Is your kids school being closed next year? Is your pre-K program being cut? Are class sizes being increased at your child’s school? The problem is much bigger than the school board. Smart City Memphis has a great post today about urban sprawl and the problems inherent in our tax code, which causes local governments to struggle to fund all services, including education. From the post:
Soon, Memphis and Shelby County will enter yet another budget season, and once again, there will be the regular hue and cry about the tax rate, bonded indebtedness, fund balances, and the need for public sacrifice. Once again, it will largely be baling wire and gum because local government doesn’t have the ultimate power to fix what’s really wrong: Tennessee’s broken tax system.
The dilemma for Memphis and Shelby County is that they can talk about new sources of revenue, they are only short-term solutions. There is no long-term answer until a new tax structure is created to remove the present inequity and unfairness.
So what’s the problem? We have an extremely regressive tax code locally. According to the research, its that here in Memphis and Shelby County the more a person makes, the LESS they actually pay in taxes proportional to their income:
The average tax burden for the 51 cities across the U.S. was 7.3 percent for families earning $25,000; 8.3 percent for families earning $50,000; 9.1 percent earning $75,000; and 9.2 percent at the $100,000 and $150,000 levels. In other words, most cities have a tax structure that is progressive, which means that it responds to a person’s “ability to pay.”
Memphis does just the opposite. The more a family earns, the less it pays. The family earning $25,000 pays 7.0 percent, right in line with the average for the 51 cities. But, the family earning $50,000 doesn’t pay more; it pays less – 6.2 percent. A family earning $75,000 pays 6.3 percent, one-third less than the national average; and the $100,000 income family pays 5.9 percent and the family earning $150,000 pays just 5.6 percent.
As much as we like to pin the blame on our local elected officials, its often not their fault. They’re doing the best they can with the limited resources at their disposal, and often the system is stacked against them. So next time you feel like yelling at the school board, remember that it goes far beyond them.
Categories: Jon Alfuth, School Finance, Writers
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