The states that tax the poor the most - The Washington Post
▻http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2014/11/13/the-states-that-tax-the-poor-the-most/?tid=sm_fb
The tax breaks available to the poor offer a lot more than extra spending money each spring. For some families, it can go a long way toward eventually lifting them out of poverty.
Such tax breaks are pretty standard, and pretty generous, at the federal level — to the point where they typically eliminate federal income tax liabilities for families in poverty. But some poor families still face substantial state income tax bills, depending on where they live, according to a report released by Columbia University this week.
In Alabama, for instance, a family of four living at the poverty level may pay $588 a year in state income tax, while a similar family in Illinois would pay $240, according to the study. “It’s surprising how much variation there is,” says Curtis Skinner, director of family economic security at the National Center for Children and Poverty at Columbia University.
