Report: Poor pay higher state tax share
By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
California's poorest residents cough up a higher share of their income to fund the state services than those in the highest income bracket. And as tardy taxpayers face today's deadline for submitting state and federal income tax forms, the poor have also run headlong into California's economic problems. "It's a good-news, bad-news situation," said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, whose report released this week outlined the inequities of taxation in California. "In the name of helping the economy, the federal government has lowered taxes to targeted groups, such as families with children. State had to balance its budget so it increased the taxes. It can't `deficit-spend' like the feds." (more...)