INCOME TAXES and SALES TAXES
The fairest tax is the income tax. Those who receive more income should be taxed at a higher rate for services that we all depend on. Sales taxes are regressive, i.e. they tax all consumers the same no matter their income, and as poorer people spend a higher percentage of their income, they are relatively more affected by sales tax.
Which are the high-income-tax states and which are the low-income-tax states? You can probably guess. High-income-tax states are HI, CA, NY, NJ, WA, OR, MN, WI, VT, MA, all states with better-than-average services such as education and state parks. Some states have no income tax and tend to have less services for their citizens: WY, SD, TX, TN, FL, NH, NV (exceptional due to revenue from gambling).
In January Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors advised states to scrap income taxes and adopt higher and broader sales taxes.
Source: The Economist, 8/8/26