As most Americans have already filed their income tax papers with the Internal Revenue Service, while a plurality has asked for an extension, a new survey is showing how disparate tax rates are at the state level.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, state income taxes vary widely not only across the country but within specific regions of the country.
In the West, for example, New Mexico leads the way with a 5.9% marginal tax rate, while next-door Colorado is marginally lower at 4.4%, and Arizona is the lowest of all at 2.5%.
The nation’s mega states also show wildly differing policies. California currently has the highest tax rate at 13.3%, followed by New York’s 10.9%. Both Texas and Florida have a 0% tax rate, or no income taxes at all.
Five other states also boast a 0% tax rate: Tennessee, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nevada, and Alaska.
The higher tax rate states tended to be bunched into the same region in the Northeast, with New Jersey at 10.7% and Massachusetts only slightly lower at 9%. Vermont’s rate is currently set at 8.7%, with Maine at 7.1%.
The Northeast also scored higher in the category of per capita property taxes, with Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, and New Jersey ranging between $2,600 and $3,400.
In the category of sales taxes, the South has some of the country’s highest rates, with Louisiana and Tennessee at 9.5%, followed by Arkansas and Mississippi at 9.4% and 9.2% respectively.
In the West, California and Arizona were among the highest at 8.8% and 8.3% respectively. Both New Mexico and Colorado were marginally lower, both having a 7.7% rate. Four states – New Hampshire, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon – have no sales taxes at all.
While state income taxes don’t appear to summon up the same dread as taxes owed to the IRS, a separate survey just released by the Gallup polling service shows a strong 43% of respondents classified as “very dissatisfied” with the amount of federal taxes they pay, compared to a combined 26% who say they are either very or somewhat satisfied.
The “very dissatisfied” response at 43% is at the highest level recorded in the last two decades. Last year the number of people in this category stood at 37%, and only as recently as 2019 the figure was even lower at 25%.
By Garry Boulard
