Taxes

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. How can some states get by with no income tax? – Vonnie, age 12, Auburn, Alabama Right before I was born in the 1970s, my family moved to Texas from Nebraska. A big reason was because Texas was – and still is – considered a low-tax state, and my dad wanted to start his business there. Texas is also one of nine states that don’t have an income tax on the “earned income” of people working there. That doesn’t mean Texas doesn’t impose any taxes on its residents – it does. Texans pay other taxes to help pay for schools, hospitals, health care, roads, airports, firefighters, business loans, public safety and all kinds of other public services. For example, Texans pay some of the highest...

Public transit systems face daunting challenges across the U.S., from pandemic ridership losses to traffic congestion, fare evasion and pressure to keep rides affordable. In some cities, including Boston, Kansas City and Washington, many elected officials and advocates see fare-free public transit as the solution. Federal COVID-19 relief funds, which have subsidized transit operations across the nation at an unprecedented level since 2020, offered a natural experiment in free-fare transit. Advocates applauded these changes and are now pushing to make fare-free bus lines permanent. But although these experiments aided low-income families and modestly boosted ridership, they also created new political and economic challenges for beleaguered transit agencies. With ridership still dramatically below pre-pandemic levels and temporary federal support expiring, transportation agencies face an economic and managerial “doom spiral.” Free public transit that doesn’t b...