State-Local Tax Burdens Higher on Individuals Living in Blue States | CNSNews.com

State-Local Tax Burdens Higher on Individuals Living in Blue States | CNSNews.com

State-Local Tax Burdens Higher on Individuals Living in Blue States

By Jon Street

October 23, 2012

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U.S. currency. (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) – Workers in New York pay the highest in local and state taxes, while workers in Alaska pay the least, according to data released by the Tax Foundation today. According to Gallup, New York is among the top 10 Democratic states, and Alaska leans Republican although it is not in the top 10 Republican states.
In its report on “State and Local Tax Burdens as a Percentage of State Income” for fiscal year 2010, the Tax Foundation estimated “the combined state and local tax burden shouldered by the residents of each of the fifty states” and ranked them.
The top 10 states with the highest tax burdens as a percentage of state income are as follows:

1. New York, 12.8 percent
2. New Jersey, 12.4 percent
3. Connecticut, 12.3 percent
4. California, 11.2 percent
5. Wisconsin, 11.1 percent
6. Rhode Island, 10.9 percent
7. Minnesota, 10.8 percent
8. Massachusetts, 10.4 percent
9. Maine, 10.3 percent
10. Pennsylvania, 10.2 percent

The top 10 states with the lowest tax burdens as a percentage of state income are as follows:

1. Alaska, 7.0 percent
2. South Dakota, 7.6 percent
3. Tennessee, 7.7 percent
4. Louisiana, 7.8 percent
5. Wyoming, 7.8 percent
6. Texas, 7.9 percent
7. New Hampshire, 8.1 percent
8. Alabama, 8.2 percent
9. Nevada, 8.2 percent
10. South Carolina, 8.4 percent

The U.S. average state-local tax burden is 9.9 percent, according to the Tax Foundation, which translates into total state-local taxes paid per capita of $4,111, based on an average income of $41,146.
In New York, the income per capita is $49,935, according to the Tax Foundation, and the total state-local taxes paid per capita is $6,375.  In Alaska, the total state-local taxes paid per capita is $3,214 based upon an income per capita of $46,098.

(AP Image)

In its State of the States analysis, Gallup reports that the following states are among the top 10 Democratic states:  New York, California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.   Some of the states that are “solid Democratic” and/or “lean Democratic” include New Jersey, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.  Excluding Maine, all of those Democratic states are in the top 10 for state-local tax burdens as a percentage of state income.
Gallup considers Maine and Wisconsin “competitive” states politically, based upon its survey.
Gallup also reports that the states that are “solid Republican” or “lean Republican” include Alaska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wyoming, Texas, Alabama and South Carolina.  Those states are in the top 10 for lowest state-local tax burdens, according to the Tax Foundation data.
Louisiana, Nevada, and New Hampshire are considered “competitive” states politically, according to Gallup.