Do Vermont sales tax exemptions make Vermont Sales tax Progressive?

I was going through the tax laws of Vermont and I noted the 21 pages of exemptions to the sales tax. Now we were always taught the sales tax was evil because it taxed the basic needs - and since basic needs are a higher percentage of a poor persons income, the rich paid too little. But of course if you exempt food, clothing, rent, utilities, medicine/drugs, the sales tax becomes progressive.

As far as I can tell each item of clothing costing less than $110 has no sales tax.

Likewise, no tax on:

Service contracts

Drugs intended for human use, durable medical equipment, mobility enhancing equipment, and prosthetic devices and supplies used in treatment intended to alleviate human suffering or to correct, in whole or in part, human physical disabilities.

Agriculture items used for raising of agricultural or horticultural commodities for sale.

Casual sales.


Sales of food, food stamps, purchases made with food stamps, food products and beverages sold for human consumption off the premises where sold.



Sales of newspapers and sales of tangible personal property which becomes an ingredient or component part of or is consumed or destroyed.

Rentals of furniture in furnished apartments or houses for residential use.

Sales of electricity, oil, gas and other fuels used in a residence for all domestic use including heating.


Sales of electricity, oil, gas and other fuels used directly and exclusively for farming purposes.

a home or business energy system on a premises not connected to the electric distribution system of a utility regulated under Title 30 and that otherwise meets the requirements of 30 V.S.A. § 219a(a)(3)(A), (C), (D), and (E); or

a hot water heating system that converts solar energy into thermal energy used to heat water, but limited to that property directly necessary for and used to capture, convert, or store solar energy for this purpose.

Sales of new personal computers and included software packages, for use exclusively in the Vermont business and directly in the activities defined in section 5930k of this title, if purchased by a high-tech business as approved by the Vermont Economic Progress Council.

and it goes on for 21 pages - and of course there is the easy not taxable clothing list for dummies section that is in A, B, C format:
Aprons

Athletic supporters

Baby Buntings

Bathing suits (but not diving gear, wet suits, etc.)

Beach capes and coats

Belts, buckles, suspenders

Bibs

Bowling shirts

Bridal apparel and accessories

Coats and wraps

Costumes

Coveralls

Choir and clerical vestments

Dresses, gowns

Dress shields

Ear muffs

Formal wear

Garter belts

Girdles

Gloves, dress, driving, general purpose work, cold weather, ski, snowmobile, (but not gloves such as welding gloves or special purpose sports gloves such as batting gloves, mitts, hockey gloves. Also not latex gloves or sanitary gloves designed for protection in special activities.)

Gym uniforms

Hair bows

Head and neck scarves

Hats, caps, turbans, millinery, yarmulkes (but not hard hats, or protective helmets)

Handkerchiefs

Hosiery, socks, garters

Hunting clothes (camouflage or blaze orange)

Hoods and hooded garments

Incontinence briefs

Jackets, windbreakers

Jogging apparel

Lab coats

Leg warmers

Leotards, tights

Lingerie

Neckwear, ties, scarves

Nightgowns

Ponchos

Rain coats, slickers, hats, (not umbrellas)

Shoulder pad for dresses or jackets (not sports equipment)

Ski pants

Sports bras

Sweat bands

Stoles

Tennis clothing

Underwear

Uniforms: band, military, professional, scout, sports uniforms suitable for ordinary wear. (The use of a team or sponsor’s name or a style recognized as associated with a given sport does not make a uniform unsuitable for ordinary wear.)

Work clothes

Now most everything else that is sold and not listed in the 21 pages is taxed. So is this a progressive sales tax, or a regressive sales tax?

:-)

Can always count on you to be the hard-working economist here at DU :-)

A lot of middle class people are spending more money then they make every year. If you're paying sales taxes on any of that, it means there comes a point in the year, maybe in Dec for some, maybe in May for others, when you're paying tax on money you don't even get. That's like a negative income tax.

Maybe if you took a moment to look at the full list, your opinion would have more weight. But it's not about facts is it?

..increasingly regressive while Dean was governor?

Most states have exemptions for "basic needs". If I recollect, a notable exception is New York, at least for clothes. Other ways to make the sales tax progressive could be to exclude the first 10,000$ of a car price from sales tax (in most states, especially Vermont, a car is a necessity).

Lived there for 26 years, left in 1990.

no tax on foods, medicines (including over the counter, I *think*), and magazines, IIRC.

for clothes only?

food, medicines and magazines were pretty much it. i don't recall taxes on services, either, come to think.

have relatives there and food is taxed.

There are NO exemptions from sales tax. Food, drugs, diapers, baby formula -- all taxed.

Vermont sounds like heaven.

8.25 for non-sugar-containing food stuffs, 8.75 for everything else. And that's *everything,* no exceptions.