Taxing the Poor: Programming Note for NOW on PBS

Are the rich getting a sweet deal on taxes?

Watch the show RIGHT NOW at:
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/415/index.html

This month, millions of Americans are filing their taxes and hoping for the best, but are rich people actually paying a smaller percentage of taxes than the poor? NOW looks at plans in many states to raise sales taxes and lower property taxes in an effort to generate revenue. But those changes may come at an even bigger price. Anti-poverty advocates say this shift would place the heaviest tax burden on the poorest households - and benefit higher-income Americans. Despite the charge, it's a model many states have long embraced.

NOW travels to one of these states, Alabama, to document the personal impact of regressive tax policies on three very different families. They include a working mom who shows us how a ten percent sales tax on groceries makes a significant difference in what her family eats; a couple living in a ramshackle house in the backwoods, who've always held jobs but still face hunger; and a well-to-do suburban couple who benefit from huge tax breaks.

Are taxes being levied fairly when it comes to the rich and the poor?

At NOW's web site at www.pbs.org/now

See the income gap between rich and poor in your state:
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/415/states-income-inequality.html
and download the fact sheet on Kansas. Kansas ranks 28th in the nation for the division between rich and poor.

Take their quiz for surprising facts about family, taxes and fairness:
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/415/family-taxes.html