Editorial: Taxes add up in Pennsylvania

It’s that time again. If you haven’t filed your federal income tax return, it’s due today.

For about half of Americans, it doesn’t matter. They’re the ones who have already filed their taxes by March — 36 percent in February, shortly after their paperwork for 2022 income was in hand, according to a Bankrate survey.

Those are mostly people who received or expected to receive refunds. About 45% of Americans fall into that category. About 20% expect to pay taxes, which explains waiting until the last minute or asking for an extension. Why write a check to Uncle Sam earlier than you must?

Regardless of when you pay them, taxes are still that dead-serious certainty. Those who get refunds are rarely getting a return of all their taxes. Even if you get a complete federal refund, taxes hit us on all sides on the other 364 days of the year.

And Pennsylvania is on the high side of the tax burden. It isn’t by a lot, but according to the Independent Fiscal Office, the Keystone State has the 21st highest tax burden.

Tax Day focuses attention on federal and state income tax. For some people — including renters who make a higher-than-median income — that’s the most significant tax they pay.

However, for property owners, the bills they get for local and school district property taxes can be the biggest check they write.

There is the sales tax you pay every time you go to a store or restaurant. You can’t forget the gas tax that is among the highest in the country. If you want to drink or smoke or gamble, you pay a tax on that, too. The state also has higher cellphone taxes than most states.

Look at your cable or internet bill, and you’ll see a list of taxes and fees. You saw a Steelers game or went to a concert or stayed in a hotel? Taxes, taxes, taxes.

Taxes are important. They are how we pave the roads and educate the children and make the water safe to drink. More than 12% of the state’s workforce is employed directly by a government agency. Even more are getting a paycheck indirectly — like bus drivers with school contracts or a nonprofit providing social services.

But it’s just as important to remember that taxes stack up. Pennsylvanians pay tax on their income before they even get their salaries. They pay another piece with every purchase made and bill paid, cutting the pie of that paycheck smaller and smaller each time.

Leaders and lawmakers need to be aware of the cost of every program, not just in the dollars they are paying out but in the dollars they are taking in — because all of them started in a taxpayer’s pocket.