The five states with the highest average combined state and local sales tax rates are Tennessee (9.47 percent), Louisiana (9.45 percent), Arkansas (9.43 percent), Washington (9.17 percent), and Alabama (9.14 percent). The five states with the lowest average combined rates are Alaska (1.43 percent), Hawaii (4.41 percent), Wyoming (5.36 percent), Wisconsin (5.44 percent), and Maine […]
Today’s map shows states’ rankings on the property tax component of the 2019 State Business Tax Climate Index. The Index’s property tax component evaluates state and local taxes on real and personal property, net worth, and asset transfers. The property tax component accounts for 15.4 percent of each state’s overall Index score. Property taxes matter […]
This map shows the real value of $100 in each state. Prices for the same goods are often much cheaper in states like Missouri or Ohio than they are in states like New York or California. As a result, the same amount of cash can buy you comparatively more in a low-price state than in […]
The individual income tax is one of the main sources of revenue for states, comprising 23.5 percent of total U.S. state and local tax collections in fiscal year 2015, the latest year of data available. The individual income tax ties with the general sales tax as the second largest source of state and local tax […]
Property taxes represent a major source of revenue for states and localities. In fiscal year 2015, the latest year of data available, 31.1 percent of total U.S. state and local tax collections came from property taxes, more than any other source of tax revenue. In the same year, 25 states and the District of Columbia […]
•Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages are proposed with the promise to improve public health outcomes, but they come with equity concerns because of their regressive nature. •We use Nielsen consumption data to explore the relationship between household income and measures of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by expenditures and fluid ounces. •If a nationwide tax were levied on […]
Unlike a tax on a general base (like income or consumption), an excise tax is a tax on a specific good or activity. Excise taxes are commonly levied on cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, soda, gasoline, insurance premiums, amusement activities, and pari-mutuels (betting), among other goods and activities. Excise taxes make up a relatively small portion of […]
Personal saving, the setting aside of resources today to get benefits in the future, is taxed in a variety of ways in the United States. Ordinary income tax treatment taxes income when first earned, and, if saved, taxes the returns on the saving (the reward one “buys” by saving). By contrast, income used for immediate […]
Recently released data from The Pew Charitable Trusts shows the strain on state retirement systems across the nation as state pension funds strive to keep pace with pensions owed to public employees. As of fiscal year (FY) 2016 (the most recent data available), states reported a combined $1.4 trillion in state pension plan funding deficits. […]
Property tax collection is a critical source of revenue for local governments, accounting for 72 percent of local tax collections nationwide in 2015 (most recent data available). Local property taxes are largely used to fund police departments, emergency services, road maintenance, and other services mainly associated with property ownership or residency. While states used to […]
• Marriage bonuses can be as high as 21 percent of a couple’s income, and marriage penalties can be as high as 12 percent of a couple’s income.
• While research shows that marriage penalties and bonuses do not have much effect on whether a couple will marry, they do impact how much each spouse works.
• It is possible to completely eliminate both marriage penalties and bonuses, but it would require a significant overhaul of the tax code that drastically changes the current distribution of income taxes paid.
California has the highest state-level sales tax rate, at 7.25 percent. Four states tie for the second-highest statewide rate, at 7 percent: Indiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. The lowest non-zero, state-level sales tax is in Colorado, which has a rate of 2.9 percent. Five states follow with 4 percent rates: Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, New […]
While a lot of attention is paid to state sales tax rates, many localities impose their own tax, leading to relatively high tax rates in several major U.S. cities.
Last year, Chicago, Illinois, vaulted to the top of the list of cities imposing the highest combined state and local sales tax when a county tax increase brought the total rate to 10.25 percent, a dubious distinction it now shares with Long Beach, California, which reached 10.25 percent on July 1, 2017.
California extended income but not sales tax hikes, though local sales tax increases dropped California in the Index’s sales tax component.
Some mistake the corporate income tax as the entirety of a business’s tax burden. However, businesses pay many types of taxes outside of the corporate income tax, including sales tax, property tax, excise tax, payroll tax, and more. The corporate income tax makes up only 9.5 percent of total business taxes.
Today’s map shows how much state governments collect in corporate income taxes per capita. New Hampshire collects the most at $433 per capita, with Delaware shortly behind at $424 per capita. Delaware also levies a gross receipts tax in addition to the corporate income tax. Alaska’s ranking of fifth highest in the country may surprise people, but it is mainly due to a large number of extractive companies and the relatively small population.