Overview of Taxation

The major controversy regarding the U.S. taxation system is the degree to which taxes should be "progressive" or "regressive" and the fact that at the federal level it has not been established at a level which will support expenditures thus creating a budget deficit. According to at least one study, the current combined federal and state tax system creates very little difference in the percentage of tax paid by each income group.

Most states receive revenue through sales taxes, which tend to be a regressive type of tax.

The estate tax was briefly repealed in 2010 and currently only applies to wealthy estates and provides only a small amount of federal revenue.