Political hopefuls for the 2016 elections continue to sell their tax-reform ideas to citizens, but do citizens really know what a fair tax system looks like?
Personal finance website WalletHub analyzed all 50 states based on the fairness of their state and local tax systems. They surveyed what Americans think a “fair” tax system is, then matched it to what their actual system is in that state.
Arizona was ranked 41 in terms of most fair and Montana came in as number one. The poor are most overtaxed in Washington, Hawaii and Illinois while the wealthy are most undertaxed in Wyoming, Nevada and Florida.
According to WalletHub’s report, Americans think “fair” state and local tax systems impose higher taxes on higher-income households than on lower-income households.
Conservatives and liberals generally agree on what a “fair” tax system looks like, but conservatives are more supportive of higher taxes on the poor and lower taxes on the wealthy. However, both “blue” and “red” states are found to overtax the poor and undertax the rich, relative to what most citizens deem “fair.”
In additional reports, Arizona ranked seven in the top ten states where the poor, the bottom 20 percent, are most overtaxed.
To see other state rankings and the full reports, click here.
