NORTHUMBERLAND– Pennsylvania no longer ranks in the “terrible 10” of tax systems — but a budget expert says taxes could be more fair. Jeff Garis of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will speak at the Susquehanna Valley Progressives meeting Thursday. He’ll be discussing Pennsylvania’s ranking of state and local taxes that was released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
He says, “Pennsylvania has constantly ranked in the terrible 10 for tax systems that require more from the people who have the least and give some of the biggest breaks to those folks who actually have the most income at their disposal. This year however when they came out with the updated report, Pennsylvania is actually now at number 6 as the most regressive state tax systems”
He also says there are several solutions to make the Pennsylvania tax system fairer, “One thing which would require most likely a constitutional amendment in Pennsylvania would be to have a graduated income tax system. That is where folks who at the lower end of the spectrum are paying a very low rate and as you move up the rate at which people are paying taxes increases. Another big one is closing corporate tax loop-holes through combined reporting.”
His speech is called Fair Taxation: Leveling the Playing Field. Thursday’s meeting is at the Unitarian Church in Northumberland starting at 6:30 pm. It will be free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.svprogress.org or www.pennbpc.org. (Emily Engle)