Assignment:
Please follow this link and watch the videos/read the stories from KERA's "One Crisis Away" series: https://stories.kera.org/onecrisisaway/ After viewing/reading, please post a brief reflection on what you learned. What sticks with you most after hearing these stories? What solutions might exist within Texas politics to these problems? What role do you think government can/should play in addressing these issues?
Texans do not pay a state income tax. Many states do levy a tax on incomes that is an additional tax to the federal income tax that affects all states. However, Texas relies on revenue from property and sales taxes to offset the absence of an income tax.
1. One of the main benefits of not having a state income tax is that individuals get to keep more of their income, which in turn can help the state economy because citizens have more money to spend. However, this also means that either the state has less revenue to spend on important services or the state must collect revenue from other sources like property taxes and sales taxes.
Do the benefits of not having a state income tax outweigh the loss in services or higher tax rates on things like property and consumer goods? Which would you rather have: a state income tax, or higher taxes on the things that you buy?
2. Texas is one of only nine states that does not have a state income tax. Why do you think the vast majority of states have an income tax? How does the Texas political culture play into the fact that Texas does not have an income tax? Do you think this will ever change?