How tax-friendly is your state?

[Neil D]

Local and state taxes can have a big impact on your take-home pay.

The Tax Foundation, a policy research group, estimated the average taxpayer's total state and local tax burden for 2005 in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. That burden reflects what residents pay in state and local income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, luxury taxes and fuel taxes, among others. States below are ranked from least to most tax friendly. (Read more about this table below. _

[bevin]

This survey is irrelevant, because you don't GET the same things and all the costs of living in the state are not factored in.

This is exactly like doing at table comparing the average cost per item at a jeweller, a hardware store, and a flea market.

For instance my state, NH, is the 2nd lowest - Alaska, with its oil revenue, is lower. But that does not factor in the additional costs of living in the north (heating costs), without preschools (), without any public transport, etc.

[Bravus]

Exactly - the idea that lower taxes are *automatically* a good thing is something I've ranted about before. You could, of course, live in an anarchy with no taxes at all: sound attractive?

[Neil D]

Quote:

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Exactly - the idea that lower taxes are *automatically* a good thing is something I've ranted about before. You could, of course, live in an anarchy with no taxes at all: sound attractive?

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You are correct in that what a state collects/spends and provide for it's citizens is not the same as what other states collect/spends for thier citizens. It's like spending money for an item that you can get retail [new], at a flea market/auction [used/new?] or from a personal ad [definately used]. It is still the same item, but the quality differs from the place you get it from...

However, I did place this up because I did want people to know what they thought...as the article says-

[:"green"] The state/local tax burden reflects what a state and its local governments collect as a percentage of per capita income. So, for example, with a state/local tax burden of 10.4 percent, the state of New Jersey and its local governments get about a tenth of what its residents make per capita.

Of course, if you live in the Garden State your personal tax burden may be higher or lower. Much will depend, as it would in any state, on whether you own your home, where in the state you live, how much you make and the source of your income. [/]