Comments on: We Can Afford It http://www.vermontnewsguy.com/we-can-afford-it Real News for Real Vermonters Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:59:26 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Doug Hoffer http://www.vermontnewsguy.com/we-can-afford-it/comment-page-1#comment-190 Doug Hoffer Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:16:40 +0000 http://www.vermontnewsguy.com/?p=782#comment-190 You said "A Vermont household with a $250,000-a-yer income probably pays more in state and local taxes than its counterpart elsewhere. A $40,000-a-year household probably pays less. A $75,000-a-year-household? Oh, it probably depends on how big it is, where it lives, and other variables." There's no need to guess. Vol. 2 of the JFO Tax Study answers the question. For a family earning $357,934 (MFJ, $350,000, the extra $3,000 is hardly enough to be a critical factor in your decision as to where to live. For a family earning $40,000 (MFJ, <65, homeowner) the figures are NH $494 FL $1,141 WA $1,643 VT $1,970 CT $2,405 NY $2,675 MN $2,742 OR $2,744 ME $2,747 MA $2,869 NC $2,992 WI $3,276 Of those with a state income tax, VT is the lowest by far and not much higher than WA which has no state income tax. For a family earning $80,743 (MFJ, <65, homeowner) the figures are NH $726 FL $1,700 WA $2,512 VT $2,749 MA $4,297 CT $4,324 ME $4,403 MN $4,527 NC $4,638 WI $4,808 NY $4,896 OR $5,205 This is striking. Every state above VT that has a state income tax has a lower top marginal rate than we do yet the actual tax liability is higher. The Governor knows that the tax code is complex and poorly understood so it's easy to persuade people that VT is out of whack. Reference to per capita taxes is an intentionally misleading measure. Do you know anyone named per capita? And for those who point out that these figures do not include property taxes, VT's income sensitivity for education taxes would make us look better not worse. At the end, you rightly pointed out that you get what you pay for (something the anti-tax crowd conveniently ignores). But to say that bringing down health care costs "would almost certainly require more public spending, possibly requiring higher taxes" is misleading. Paying more in taxes for a single payer system would (for most) simply replace the outrageous premiums paid today. You said “A Vermont household with a $250,000-a-yer income probably pays more in state and local taxes than its counterpart elsewhere. A $40,000-a-year household probably pays less. A $75,000-a-year-household? Oh, it probably depends on how big it is, where it lives, and other variables.”

There’s no need to guess. Vol. 2 of the JFO Tax Study answers the question.
For a family earning $357,934 (MFJ, $350,000, the extra $3,000 is hardly enough to be a critical factor in your decision as to where to live.

For a family earning $40,000 (MFJ, <65, homeowner) the figures are
NH $494
FL $1,141
WA $1,643
VT $1,970
CT $2,405
NY $2,675
MN $2,742
OR $2,744
ME $2,747
MA $2,869
NC $2,992
WI $3,276
Of those with a state income tax, VT is the lowest by far and not much higher than WA which has no state income tax.

For a family earning $80,743 (MFJ, <65, homeowner) the figures are
NH $726
FL $1,700
WA $2,512
VT $2,749
MA $4,297
CT $4,324
ME $4,403
MN $4,527
NC $4,638
WI $4,808
NY $4,896
OR $5,205
This is striking. Every state above VT that has a state income tax has a lower top marginal rate than we do yet the actual tax liability is higher.

The Governor knows that the tax code is complex and poorly understood so it’s easy to persuade people that VT is out of whack. Reference to per capita taxes is an intentionally misleading measure. Do you know anyone named per capita? And for those who point out that these figures do not include property taxes, VT’s income sensitivity for education taxes would make us look better not worse.

At the end, you rightly pointed out that you get what you pay for (something the anti-tax crowd conveniently ignores). But to say that bringing down health care costs “would almost certainly require more public spending, possibly requiring higher taxes” is misleading. Paying more in taxes for a single payer system would (for most) simply replace the outrageous premiums paid today.

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