Tax Burden on the Rise

A new report from the Tax Foundation comparing state and local tax burdens on residents of all 50 states finds that the average tax burden on citizens has grown since 2000.

The Annual State-Local Tax Burden Ranking, which was released this month, computed the average combined state and local tax bill paid by the residents of each state. Unlike other similar reports, this analysis focuses on the tax burden incurred by taxpayers, rather than on the revenue collected by state and local governments.

Overall, tax burdens have increased from 9.3 percent to 9.9 percent since 2000. Residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut paid pay more than 12 percent of their income in 2010. Alaskans maintained their nearly 30-year position at the bottom of the tax burden rankings, paying just 7 percent of their income.