Originally posted by: Razorguts
Originally posted by: AaRdVarK54
I used to live in Nashville, and yes, you did have 9.25% Sales Tax, but don't forget that you don't pay any Income Tax! I order all my expensive stuff online, so it benefitted me a lot more than here in Virginia where I pay 4.5% Sales Tax, but Income Tax on top of that.
Yes, but isn't it true that some states paying income tax do not pay sales tax on items such as food and clothing? We're paying sales tax on anything and everythign here...
And let's not forget that state income tax is deductible from you federal income tax. If you support you state entirely through a sales tax, then you don't get to deduct that. I don't understand how people living in Tennessee think not paying income tax, and having a sky high sales tax is such a great deal. It is especially bad if you make a large purchase like a car, because you get taxed on that and then wind up having to pay interest on the tax. When you compare how much more you pay in tax compared with someone making the same income in VA, you'll see you're getting really screwed. The biggest problem with getting state revenue on sales tax is that it is a regressive tax, and it hits a single mom trying to make ends meet much harder than it hits a wealthy person buying expensive clothing. Even though the wealthy person pays more money, the poor person gives up a larger percentage of their income.
When I lived there the sales tax sucked, and that was before it went up to 9.25%. I live in Washington now, and the sales tax is ALMOST as high, but at least they have the decency not to tax most food, so it impacts the lower classes less than it does in Tennessee (since most people below the poverty line statistically tend to be single moms and they spend a LOT of their income on food for their kids).