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To be sure, some states are worse than Missouri about punishing the poor with state income taxes. But we’re bad enough:
Poor families in Missouri continue to face substantial state income tax liability, according to a new report released today by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Single working parents with two children, earning $14,000 or more in Missouri , must pay income tax. The poverty line for this type of family is $17,165. A married couple with two children pays income tax if the household salary is $17,600 or more, well below the poverty level of $22,017 annually.
The state ekes a meager amount of blood out of those poor turnips instead of taking an extra pint from the wealthiest:
Missouri’s Income Tax brackets were established in 1931 and have not been adjusted since. As a result, all Missourians who earn at least $9,000 of adjusted gross income per year are taxed at the same rate of 6 percent, no matter how high or low their income is.
“A single mother of two earning $14,000 a year is taxed at the same rate as someone making $1 million a year. That just doesn’t make sense,” said Amy Blouin, executive director of the Missouri Budget Project. “We should modernize our tax structure to help working families struggling to escape poverty become economically successful, not tax them deeper into poverty.”
Essentially, then, Missouri has a flat tax. Other states have a modicum of compassion:
A majority of states and the federal government do not tax families living in poverty. Fourteen states not only avoid taxing poor families, but also offer tax credits that provide refunds to families with incomes at the poverty line. These credits offset additional state taxes, including the general revenue sales tax. This helps support families’ work efforts and reduces poverty.
But in Missouri, we agree with Marie: let them eat cake.
I recently watched a Netflix documentary on Chaucer as set in historical context by Terry Jones. Since I didn’t know too much about the 13th and 14th centuries in England, it was especially interesting to me. My ears picked up when he was talking about the wars between France and England during the rule of King Edward. He said the people really got tired of all the wars during this time because the king had a flat tax (set amount) that every citizen had to pay no matter what their income, great or small, in order to raise the money to fund all these wars. The people were upset because although their taxes funded these excursions, all the profits from the wars went to royalty and the wealthy. Just another way to funnel money upstream to those who don’t really need it. Sound familiar?