The Oregon Center for Public Policy questioned whether tax cut proposals from Washington, D.C. and Salem would help the middle class. However, the income tax cuts will not solve middle income families' economic dilemmas. The report notes that the declining wages that many workers have experienced are pre-tax declines. The tax burden has no impact on declining wages, the major source of income for middle class families. In addition, the OCPP report notes that because Oregon's income tax system is basically progressive, middle-income families pay a relatively small portion of total state and federal income taxes collected.
Averages can be misleading.
The OCPP report also noted that the middle class will reap little benefit from a tax cut proposal the Oregon Legislative Assembly referred to the November 2000 ballot. D.C. Founded in 1986, EPI seeks to widen the debate about policies to achieve healthy economic growth, prosperity and opportunity in the United States.