State tax burden

In a recent post, I mentioned that the highest earners in the state pay less as a percentage of their income in state taxes than the middle class. Well, today, the City Pages has a beautifully illustrated chart. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has always done a wonderful job of providing information on tax incidence, and this chart shows that the middle class is paying the most.

While the income tax is progressive, it does not make up enough for the regressive sales (excise) and property taxes. Clearly, the upper 10% can afford to pay a bit more in income taxes. While I think that the graph should have a slightly positive slope, it should at the very least be level across all income brackets.