True Cost Economics is currently creating a sizable ruckus in the academic world, and its value as a system of thought is starting to be recognized by the economic establishment. -- Brendan Themes Go there >>True Cost Economics
Combined with the fact that sales tax is tied to consumption rather than income, this leads some to the conclusion that low-income individuals and families pay a greater proportion of their incomes in sales taxes, therefore sales tax is regressive. You're supposed to read regressive as unfair.
A regressive tax may at first appear to be a fair way of taxing citizens because everyone, regardless of income level, pays the same dollar amount. By taking a closer look, it is easy to see that such a tax causes lower-income people to pay a larger share of their income than wealthier people pay. Though true regressive taxes are not used as income taxes, they are used as taxes on tobacco, alcohol, gasoline, jewelry, perfume, and travel. User fees often are considered regressive because they take a larger percentage of income from low-income groups than from high-income groups.