Laura Johnston’s Metro Page Sunday piece on “wage earners” bearing the burden of city taxes presented a distorted view of the issue. It left out the most important factor of this payroll tax – it has no progressivity. It is a regressive tax.

Many people who don’t have to pay a penny of federal income taxes because their income is so low, must pay the full freight on the city's so-called “income tax.”

The problem of income for cities would be solved easily if the tax were not a regressive tax with both the very poor and the very wealthy paying at the same rate. The tax should be made a true income tax, with emphasis on INCOME.

To avoid the issue of progressivity is to distort the true nature of the problem.

When you want to tax Social Security earnings – I call them earnings because you paid a tax for them through the years – yet allow people with very high incomes to pay the same as poor or middle earning people you are totally distorting the issue.

So let’s stop this new grab for more taxes for the lower income brackets by letting politicians and the Plain Dealer know that they are looking in the wrong direction to help cities.

Call the Plain Dealer and complain about the distortion: 999-4800.