Poor Pay Higher Tax Rate In Texas Than The National Average

Our state Republican leadership likes to brag about Texas being a low-tax state. And that's true if you are rich. Because of the very regressive structure of taxes in the state (Texas is funded mainly by sales and property taxes), the rich pay a much smaller percentage of their income in state and local taxes than either the middle or working classes.

This is verified by figures from the office of the State Comptroller (a Republican). Last month Comptroller Susan Combs said that those making less than $29,223 pay an average of 6% of their income in sales taxes and 5.3% of their income in property taxes. But those making more than $29,223 pay only an average of 3.4% of their income for each of the taxes -- and the rich pay far less than that.

Now we learn that not only do the poor and working classes in Texas pay a larger percentage of their income than the rich, but they also pay a larger percentage of their income than poor and working class people in most other states. This is true of the bottom 40% of wage earners. Consider the following statistics:

BOTTOM 20% (making less than $18,000)
Texas...............pays 12.2% in state & local taxes
National avg...............pays 10.9% on same taxes

BOTTOM 21-40% (earning $18,000 to $31,000)
Texas...............pays 10.2% in state & local taxes
National avg...............pays 10.0% on same taxes

It's obvious that the "Texas miracle" does not work for those in the bottom 40% of wage earners. Unless you make a lot more money it would be better to live in another state. But that's the way the Republicans want it. They have designed the state's economy to be beneficial to the rich. Worker's are only there to provide cheap labor and pay taxes (something they certainly don't want to make the rich do).

The national Republicans are trying very hard to turn the country's economy into a third world economy. Here in Texas we are much further down that road.