# Sales tax  on food

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sales-tax-on-food/134249>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 28, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sales-tax-on-food/134249 "2002-10-28T14:44:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sales-tax-on-food/134249/21 "2002-10-29T18:15:15Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by drachillix \*  
> \*\*
> 
> Aren’t schools usually state/federally funded. If there was no local funding to the school, a local tax cut would have little if any effect. \*\*

Schools get very little funding from the federal government. In a lot of states they schools are state + locally funded. A lot of sales taxes are mostly or totally state taxes so it would mean less money for the state

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**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sales-tax-on-food/134249/22 "2002-10-29T18:23:12Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by drachillix \*  
> \*\*
> 
> Aren’t schools usually state/federally funded. If there was no local funding to the school, a local tax cut would have little if any effect. \*\*

Schools get very little funding from the federal government. In a lot of states they schools are state + locally funded. A lot of sales taxes are mostly or totally state taxes so it would mean less money for the state

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**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sales-tax-on-food/134249/23 "2002-10-29T20:12:10Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \*  
> \*\*
> 
> Now wait a minute. If you cut the funding the population still grows at 6-7%. So some peple go without that program.\*\*

Drivers of revenue growth in a typical state would be:

Population growth: 1% per year  
Inflation: 2% per year  
Real economic growth: 3-4% per year

It’s true that population growth and inflation drive up the cost of government services, even if government programs are held static. But economic growth doesn’t. So, again, when you cut taxes part or all of the “cut” comes in the form of reduced revenue growth, not out of a static baseline.

> [@](#):
>
> \*\*“Variation in tax burden”-you mean some states don’t spend it all and save it for a rainy day? \*\*

Some states don’t tax it, don’t spend it, and don’t save it–they let you keep it, or at least keep more of it.

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