Report says Washington has worst tax code in the nation



A new report released Wednesday says our state has the worst tax code in the country.

The Institution on Taxation and Economic Policy -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization -- looked at how much each state and Washington, D.C., tax different income brackets.

The report found people with the lowest incomes in Washington pay the largest percentage of their income to taxes -- 18 percent. Meanwhile, those making the most money in our state pay the least, at just 3 percent.

How does that compare to other states?

California's tax code was ranked the best, because there's not much of a disparity between the percentage of taxes paid by the poorest and the wealthiest people.

With Washington at the top, Texas, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Oklahoma and Wyoming round out the 10 worst states for taxing the poor.

Overall, the study says 45 states have a regressive tax system in which the poorest are taxed the highest percentage of their income.

This leads to more income equality, according to the study.

Read the full report here. Watch the video above to hear a more detailed analysis from Q13's Brandi Kruse.