Are the rich getting a sweet deal on taxes?

This month, millions of Americans are filing their taxes and hoping for the best, but are rich people actually paying a smaller percentage of taxes than the poor? NOW ON PBS looks at plans in many states to raise sales taxes and lower property taxes in an effort to generate revenue. But those changes may come at an even bigger price. Anti-poverty advocates say this shift would place the heaviest tax burden on the poorest households - and benefit higher-income Americans. Despite the charge, it's a model many states have long embraced.

NOW travels to one of these states, Alabama, to document the personal impact of regressive tax policies on three very different families. They include a working mom who demonstrates how a 10 percent sales tax on groceries makes a significant difference in what her family eats; a couple living in a ramshackle house in the backwoods who've always held jobs but still face hunger; and a well-to-do suburban couple who benefit from huge tax breaks.

Are taxes being levied fairly when it comes to the rich and the poor?

On NOW's Web site at www.pbs.org/now , see how your state decides to tax you and your neighbors; take our quiz for surprising facts about family, taxes and fairness; and listen to Web-exclusive expert insight on how to turn around our fractured national economy.