Is increasing a sales tax always regressive?

[mirror wall]

I'm absentee voting right now and am a bit confused on a proposed amendment. The funds would go toward preserving wildlife, but the sales tax would be increase. I've always felt that sales taxes were unfair and that if you want to fund something, do it by raising income taxes on the wealthy.

What do you think?

[Canuckistanian]

They should have a wildlife tax on snowmobiles, ATV's and chainsaws

Let the destroyers of wildlife and wildlife habitat pay the price.

[progdonkey]

1. I believe so, even if the proposed target is noble...

Who's taxed and where the taxes go are two different questions. The first question determines whether it's pro-/regressive and the second just determines whether it's a worthwhile tax.

With the amendment, it's basically making the people at the lower end of the economic ladder pay for the preservation of wildlife. (That's better than having them pay for new B-2 bombers to kill other poor people at least.)

Sounds like the people behind it are basically saying, "You want to protect the forests? Fine, YOU pay for it; now, excuse me while I go fish on my yacht."

[nebenaube]

2. The problem is that we already paid to preserve the wild-life and build schools and...

cover health care, the puppet government decided to blow it all on war instead.

[frogcycle]

3. Sales taxes can be made less unfair

an across-the-board flat tax on all purchases does tend to bite the poor worse than it does the rich, in that it takes a larger percent of their income

some places don't levy them on food and medicine; some have increased "luxury" taxes on some items deemed non-essential like jewelry and pleasure boats

one good thing about a luxury tax - it is harder to duck than is an income tax. Wealthy people can use loopholes to avoid paying taxes on millions in income, but if they buy that yacht, or 30,000 square foot house, or fifty carat diamond, the transaction is (usually) visible and there is no complex tax code to allow them to offset it.

[Somawas]

4. Yes. Sales taxes are always regressive.