Sales Tax Blog
Why is Sales Tax Considered a Regressive Tax? (Infographic)
Ever heard the term "regressive tax"? Maybe not. But it refers to a tax that is unfairly imposed more strongly on lower income families. Sales tax is regressive. Why? Because people who earn less pay a larger percentage of their salary in the form of sales tax, as compared to those who earn more. In fact, based on percentage of salary, people in the lowest bracket pay more than DOUBLE what the top 1% pay. Compare that to income tax, where (not counting deductions), the rich pay a higher percentage than the poor. Income tax is called a "progressive tax",… Read More
How Service Taxability is Changing in 2017
When sales taxes first went into effect in the 1930s, they generally only applied to the purchase of physical property. This reflected the nature of the economy, but many things have changed since then, including the number and types of services available. This has led states to reassess whether to tax services and which ones to tax. Many states now do consider at least some services to be taxable, and that list looks to continue growing over time. Taxes on Services As a rule, services used to not be taxed if they were pure services. That means that the service… Read More
2017 Sales Tax Holidays by State
Click here for this year’s list! Love them or hate them, sales tax holidays are here to stay, at least for another year. Sales tax holidays are important, both for consumers wishing to save money, and retailers who are encouraged and may be required to participate. Each year, the list of sales tax holidays changes, as some states add tax-free dates, and others cancel them. It’s an ongoing process of legislation among states, so we’ll do our best to keep this page updated throughout 2017. We’ve linked to resources where possible, but sometimes these haven’t yet been updated for the… Read More