Tax burden on the middle class - Thesis Example

The seemingly unfair rich-poor balance in the state and local taxes has spurred discussions across different economic forums. Such imbalance has contributed immensely to the regressive tax system evident in many states. The tax burden is huge on the middle-class and low-class. The research utilized existing literature to find out whether the middle-class paid more tax than the upper-class and the lower-class taxpayers. Specifically, scholarly journals that had analyzed the topic were critical to the research.

Additionally, recent reports from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy were used in the research. The data is presented in the tables and graphs. The tax systems levy more taxes on the middle-class taxpayers than they do on the upper-class counterparts. A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy indicated that many state tax systems tend to charge the low-and middle-income families a higher tax rate than the upper class counterparts. According to the study, the imbalance has contributed to the widening income inequality gap in which the middle and low-income households feel the negative implications of differential taxation rates.

The poorest twenty percent of the low-income earners pay approximately 10.9 percent of their income to the local and state taxes (Davis et al 3). Similarly, the middle twenty percent of the US citizens contribute 9.4 percent of their income towards the tax. On the other hand, the rich taxpayers pay a mere 5.4 percent of their income to the local and state taxes (Davis et al 3). Notably, the tax systems burden the middle-class, as well as, the lower class at the expense of the wealthy taxpayers.

However, taxation system in California has attempted to balance tax rates among the three classes. In California, the poorest citizens pay 10.5 percent, while the top one percent residents contribute 8.7 percent (Davis et al 21). Nonetheless, the tax rate gap is arguably wide. The