Study: Middle, low income pay most in tax

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Most states tax their middle- and low-income families more heavily than wealthier families, a study by a U.S. policy group asserts.

A distributional analysis by the non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy contends while the average state and local tax rate on the best-off 1 percent of families is 6.4 percent before accounting for savings from federal itemized deductions, the rate on the middle 20 percent of the income spectrum is 9.7 percent, the group said in a release Wednesday.

It found the average tax rate on the poorest 20 percent of U.S. families is the highest of all income groups at 10.9 percent.

"In the coming months, lawmakers across the nation will be forced to make difficult decisions about budget-balancing tax changes -- which makes it vital to understand who is hit hardest by state and local taxes right now," study author Matthew Gardner said in a release. "The harsh reality is that most states require their poor and middle income taxpayers to pay the most taxes as a share of income."