Tax Fairness Declining in Minnesota

Minnesota's Taxes: Who Pays and How Much?

The Minnesota Department of Revenue’s Tax Incidence Study provides information about Minnesota’s state and local taxes in 2004, the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available, as well as projections for 2009.

• From 1996 to 2000, the average amount of state and local taxes paid by Minnesotans, measured as a share of income, dropped by 13%. But since 2002, taxes as a share of income have been rising and are projected to rise further in 2009.
• Minnesotans paid an average of 11.6% of their incomes in combined state and local taxes in 2004.
• Minnesota’s state and local tax system is regressive — that means that Minnesota’s low- and middle-income taxpayers pay a larger share of their incomes in taxes than the highest-income Minnesotans do. Minnesota’s tax system is becoming more regressive — that is, less fair — over time.

(The rest is here.)