Texas Tax System

Texas has high property taxes because taxpayers don’t pay a personal income tax.
Taxes reinforce inequality, as the state end up taxing the poor far more heavily than other classes. The idea that the absence of an income tax makes Texas better able to attract business, create jobs and keep young workers from moving to other states might be true but this system is creating a tax burden on poor and middle-income Texans. The Lone Star State depends on a state sales tax, and local jurisdictions collect additional sales tax and property taxes to help pay government bills.

Texas has above-average sales taxes and property tax rates. The substitutes for income taxes tend to be a system that puts an unfair amount of pressure on the poor. While Texans keep more of their income, they end up spending more on other taxes with lower-quality public services to make up for it. The main purpose of income tax is to redistribute wealth. Higher earners will be taxed more than lower earners. However, other taxes like sales tax doesn’t consider income level of consumers. As a result, the poor are subjected to pay the same amount of sales tax as the wealthy, who have a much smaller exposure to the sales tax. As a percentage of income, poor Texans pay four times as much in …show more content…
Implementing an income tax will diversify and stabilize state revenues while redistributing the tax burden to the upper class and away from more vulnerable residents. By reducing property taxes, Texans could pay income taxes with reductions in education, healthcare, and other services. Unfortunately, since there was a successful drive for a constitutional amendment that prohibits a personal income tax unless the voters approve it, the best solution is to reform sales