April 17, 2006
A DUBIOUS HONOR FOR HAWAII
Legislative Action in Alabama Moves Hawaii's Income Tax to the Top in Taxing Poor Working Families
by
Jason A. Levitis and Nicholas Johnson
Last week, Alabama's governor signed into law
new legislation that provides major income tax relief to low-income working
families. As a result of this change in Alabama law, Hawaii — which was second
to Alabama in the burden its income tax imposes on the poor — is on track to
inherit Alabama’s standing as the highest taxer of the earnings of the poor.
However, there is still time for Hawaii to take legislative action to avoid this
dubious honor.
Table 1.
Effect of Alabama Legislation on Hawaii's Rankings In Measures of
Income Tax Burden on Low-Income Families, 2005 |
Measure of Tax Burden |
Income |
Tax Due in Hawaii |
Hawaii's Rank Without New Alabama Law
(out of 42) |
Hawaii's Rank Based on New Alabama Law*
(out of 42) |
Income Tax on: |
|
|
|
|
|
One-Parent Families of Three at Poverty Line |
$15,577 |
$373 |
2 |
1 |
|
Two-Parent Families of Four at Poverty Line |
19,961 |
470 |
2 |
1 |
|
One-Parent Families of Three at 125% Poverty
Line |
19,471 |
612 |
2 |
1 |
|
Two-Parent Families of Four at 125% Poverty Line |
24,951 |
808 |
3 |
3 |
Income at which Income Tax begins to be Levied
on: |
|
|
|
|
|
One-Parent Families of Three |
9,800 |
— |
3 |
2 |
|
Two-Parent Families of Four |
11,500 |
— |
4 |
3 |
Source:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
*
Reflects tax year 2005 rankings if Alabama's new law had been in effect. |
Hawaii’s Income-Tax Treatment of
Low-Income Working Families. Hawaii’s income tax imposes a major burden on
poor and near-poor working families. A study of state income tax systems in
2005
ranked Hawaii among the top four in every measure of income tax burden on
low-income families, and second only to Alabama by many measures. (See Table
1.) Hawaii was second to Alabama in the amount of income tax it charges
one-parent families of three and two-parent families of four at the federal
poverty line, as well as one-parent families of three earning 25 percent more
than the poverty line. Hawaii’s income tax thresholds — the lowest income level
at which families must pay income tax — also were among the lowest in the nation
and well below the poverty line. Overall, Hawaii’s income tax in 2005 was
second only to Alabama’s in the burden it imposed on low-income families, and it
was far outside the national mainstream.
The Alabama Legislation. Alabama’s
House Bill 292, passed unanimously by Alabama’s legislature and signed into law
by Governor Riley on April 12, provides major income tax relief to poor working
families. The bill raises the standard deduction and the child tax credit for
low-income families beginning in 2007. As a result, Alabama will improve in
every measure of tax burden on low-income families. (See Table 2 for examples.)
Hawaii’s New Rankings. As a result of
the Alabama legislation, Hawaii’s income tax is on course to become the harshest
in the nation on low-income families in 2007. Hawaii will levy the highest tax
in the nation on families of three and four at the poverty line, and on families
of three earning 25 percent more than the poverty line. And it will climb into
the top three in every measure of income tax burden on the working poor.
Overall, Hawaii’s income tax system will be the nation’s most burdensome on
families working to escape poverty.
Table 2.
Effect of Alabama Legislation on Rankings of Income Tax Liability
at Poverty Line, Top Ten States, 2005* |
Single-Parent Families of Three |
|
Two-Parent Families of Four |
Rank |
State |
Income |
Tax |
Rank |
State |
Income |
Tax |
1 |
Alabama (old law) |
$15,577 |
$458 |
1 |
Alabama (old law) |
$19,961 |
$538 |
1 |
Hawaii |
15,577 |
373 |
1 |
Hawaii |
19,961 |
470 |
2 |
West Virginia |
15,577 |
287 |
2 |
Arkansas |
19,961 |
406 |
3 |
Alabama (new law) |
15,577 |
253 |
3 |
Virginia |
19,961 |
389 |
4 |
Michigan |
15,577 |
186 |
4 |
West Virginia |
19,961 |
378 |
5 |
Louisiana |
15,577 |
155 |
5 |
Oregon |
19,961 |
310 |
6 |
Montana |
15,577 |
143 |
6 |
Alabama (new law) |
19,961 |
293 |
7 |
Arkansas |
15,577 |
126 |
7 |
Michigan |
19,961 |
232 |
8 |
Oregon |
15,577 |
117 |
8 |
Indiana |
19,961 |
222 |
9 |
Ohio |
15,577 |
90 |
9 |
Montana |
19,961 |
209 |
10 |
Georgia |
15,577 |
82 |
10 |
Iowa |
19,961 |
183 |
*
Reflects tax year 2005 rankings if Alabama House Bill 292 had been in
effect. |
The Importance of Low-Income Tax Relief in
Hawaii. The high income taxes Hawaii imposes on working poor families
create a barrier to families working their way into the middle class. Hawaii’s
income tax code is of particular concern because of the state’s high cost of
living. Escaping poverty requires more take-home pay in Hawaii than in the rest
of the country, and Hawaii’s income tax system compounds that challenge.
Prospects for Legislative Action.
Time is short to prevent Hawaii from assuming the title of nation’s highest
taxer of the earnings of the working poor. While Governor Lingle and
legislators from both parties have proposed promising legislation, nothing has
been enacted. One straightforward solution, which draws on proposals advanced
by legislators and the governor, is a combination of an increase in the standard
deduction and a state Earned Income Tax Credit. Hawaii’s standard deduction is
among the lowest in the nation, and it lacks a state EITC altogether. Both
provisions are easily implemented. Together, these provisions would move
Hawaii’s income tax system from the extreme into the national mainstream.
End Notes:
Jason A. Levitis and Nicholas Johnson, “The Impact of State Income Taxes on
Low-Income Families in 2005,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
February, 2006.
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