The usual objection to raising taxes on the wealthy or
corporations is that such taxes undermine economic growth; yet there is
remarkably little evidence to back up those claims. Studies instead have
emphasized that neither business tax cuts nor estate tax
cuts play any significant role in local economic growth. Instead, the sad truth is that almost every state tax
system requires working families to pay a higher percentage of their
income in taxes than their wealthier citizens. A report
by the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities and EPI emphasizes that making state tax systems more
progressive is also a way to mitigate the broader trend of growing before-tax
economic inequality.
Core policies to achieve these goals include:
