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Taxes collected by school districts and local and county governments may be unfair, and I am referring to earned income, occupation and per capita taxes, not real estate taxes.
It is fair to tax the earned income of workers while the income from investments, dividends and capital gains goes untaxed? Is it fair to tax a minimum-wage worker the same amount as a millionaire such as a per capita tax does? Is it fair to tax someone on the basis of a job title rather than on the income derived from that work?
The answer to all those questions is no. Real estate taxes are at least related to the physical size of the land and the structures located on that property, in other words, its the property value.
The federal government and our surrounding states have legalized a graduate income tax that can have higher tax rates or lower tax rates depending on the amount of a person’s income, their ability to pay taxes.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania will continue to have those taxes that are favorable to the rich at the expense of the working class and poor until voters elect legislators and a governor who are committed to the elimination of unfair taxation.
David L. Faust
Selinsgrove