... on gasoline, cigarees and beer take about 1.6 percent of the income of the poorest families, 0.8 percent of the income of middle-income families, and just 0.1 percent of the income of the very ... on the well-being of their citizens — and on the fairness of state and local taxes. Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, 4th EditionWHY THE SCOPE OF THE ... eective income tax rate that the richest families pay, and middle-income families pay about half of the eective rate of the well-to-do. Of the three major taxes used by states, the personal income...