This article compares the degree of personal income tax progressivity in
selected states and investigates the determinants of changes in progressivity
through time. D. Suits's and N. C. Kakwani's recently proposed summary
measures of tax progressivity are estimated and compared for twelve states with
comparable income tax systems. Time series estimates are made for a single
state, North Carolina. The analysis reveals that there are systematic differences
in progressivity among the states and that inflation and real income growth are
important determinants of declining state income tax progressivity.
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