Are you in one of the highest "tax-burden" states ?

Hi clients and friends, how is your spring shaping up? I am enjoying a more "normal" life again, after 3 1/2 months of dealing with a tax-season schedule. So now I'm back to reviewing news and posting interesting little pieces like this.

If you had to guess, which state do you think has the highest state tax burden?

First, let me define what that means....I don't simply mean which state has the highest income tax rate. Instead, we are considering the following three state taxes: property tax, individual income tax, and sales/excise tax. Considering these three taxes, which state causes a taxpayer to fork over the largest proportion of their income to pay these three taxes?

I'm quite happy to report that my home state of North Carolina is number 32 (we will just ignore for this news piece, the lack of services we may get in return). The highest ? Here's the top 10:

1. New York

2. Hawaii

3. Vermont

4. Maine

5. California

6. Connecticut

7. Minnesota

8. Illinois

9. New Jersey

10. Rhode Island

As a former "Jersey Girl", I am quite surprised that there are 8 states higher than it....I can't even imagine. Are you surprised by this list ?

In case you are curious....the LOWEST 5 are:

Alaska (lowest), then

New Hampshire

Wyoming

Florida

Tennessee

Anyone considering a move ? These stats may just come in to play...it did for me, although of course taxes should never be the only reason to change your state of residence.

Bye for now !

Kathy