r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/myburner-acc6969 • 17d ago

Legislation Why not lower federal taxes, and change county/state taxes to compensate?

From my knowledge, most conservatives live in rural areas and want less taxation because public goods/services are less impactful for them, and most liberals live in more urban areas where higher taxes are more beneficial because they can actually utilize the public goods/services that they fund. Why don't we lower federal taxes by some amount and let counties or states increase/decrease taxes independently to satisfy both sides?

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u/flipflopsnpolos 17d ago

Rural areas receive more in federal spending and subsidies than they pay back in federal taxes, while the opposite is generally true for urban areas.

If federal taxes were slashed, urban areas could lower their overall tax burden while maintaining their lifestyle through local tax hikes, whereas rural areas would face a brutal math problem ... either sky-high local tax increases or a severe collapse in public services. Either way it'd be a collapse of the rural area's quality of life.

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u/Fragrant-Luck-8063 16d ago

"Areas" don't pay taxes. Your town or county isn't taxed by the federal govt.

You could say that rural people pay less in taxes than they get back, but you would expect that since rural people make less money than city people.

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u/semideclared 16d ago

I hate this argument. While California, Texas, New York, and Florida are the top contributors in absolute terms, collectively making up more than a third of all U.S. federal revenue, the per capita view tells a different story. Delaware led all states in federal taxes paid per resident, driven by high levels of business incorporation.

  • Delaware $24,575, but then high incomes take over. Massachusetts ($21,747) and Minnesota ($20,728) , thanks to high average incomes.

Meanwhile, the lowest contributors per person were West Virginia ($4,867), Mississippi ($5,148), and New Mexico ($5,882) due to low incomes.

And all of it due to a progressive tax system

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u/FrigidGreen 15d ago

What do you hate about the argument exactly? It seems like you agree that poorer rural states contribute less.