February 1, 2009
Executive Director of Tennesseans for Fair Taxation Pens Op-Ed in The Tennessean, Citing Our State-Local Tax Burden Report
"Newspaper's Analysis on State Budget Misses Mark"
By Brian Miller
Contrary to Monday's news story, taxes in Tennessee have actually remained the same, and even declined slightly, over the past 30 years, even after accounting for the various sales-tax increases. According to the Tax Foundation, state and local taxes as a percentage of personal income in Tennessee have gone from 9.2 percent in 1977 to 8.3 percent in 2008. Data from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and the UT Center for Business and Economic Research of state-only taxes show the same general trend.
