The Columbus Dispatch reported today that a national report, Who Pays?, issued  by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said Ohio's tax overhaul approved in 2005, which includes the 2009 tax-rate cut that is currently under debate, increased the disparity between what Ohio's poorest and wealthiest citizens pay in taxes. The poor are paying a higher percentage of their income, the report said, with Ohio ranking 28th in "fairness," compared with 14th in 2002.

Who pays? is a comprehensive analysis of state and local tax systems in all fifty states. The study released yesterday, November 18, 2009, shows that on average, state and local tax systems require the poorest taxpayers to pay the highest effective taxes. The report provided a list of the ten states with the highest taxes on the poor.  

THE TEN STATES WITH THE HIGHEST TAXES ON THE POOR  

Washington......................................  17.3%

Florida..............................................  13.5%

Illinois................................................  13.0%

Arizona.............................................  12.5%

Texas................................................  12.2%

Hawaii..............................................   12.2%

Arkansas..........................................  12.1%

OHIO.................................................  12.0%

Connecticut......................................  12.0%

Indiana..............................................  11.9%  

The report said, "The bottom line is that many so-called 'low-tax' states are 'high-tax' states for the poor, and most of them do not offer a good deal to middle-income families either. Only the wealthy in such states pay relatively little."   Read the report. Click: http://www.itepnet.org/whopays.htm