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The Republic of Taxes

Tax burdens across the country

August 2021

Script

This video is part of our Kite & Key Shorts series—easy to understand...but hard to forget.

 

How’s your bank account looking?

The answer may depend just as much on where you live as how much you make

While all Americans are subject to the same federal taxes, taxes at the state and local level vary widely.

Some states don’t have income taxes.i

A few don’t have sales taxes.ii

Because no two places do taxation exactly the same, it can be difficult to make comparison.

But one measure is how much of residents’ total income gets taken by state and local taxes.

The places where it’s the highest?iii

#5 — Minnesota (12.1%)

#4 — Vermont (12.3%)

#3 — Hawaii (12.7%)

#2 — Connecticut (12.8%)

#1 — New York (14.1%)

The places where it’s the lowest?iv

#5 — Oklahoma (8.2%)

#4 — Texas (8%)

#3 — Tennessee (7%)

#2 — Wyoming (7%)

#1 — Alaska (5.8%)

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  1. Tax rates and types of taxation vary widely between states. 
  2. New York has the highest state-local tax burden at 14.1%. 
  3. Alaska has the lowest state-local tax burden at 5.8%. 

Sources

  1. "State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2021” (Katherine Loughead) — Tax Foundation
  2. “State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2021" (Janelle Cammenga) — Tax Foundation
  3. “State and Local Tax Burdens, Calendar Year 2019” (Erica York, Jared Walczak) — Tax Foundation
  4. Ibid.

Shownotes

SOUND: VALVE OIL, PAUL TASKER 

FOOTAGE: ATLANTIDE PHOTOTRAVEL, AF STUDIO (GETTY) 

CITED SOURCES AND NEWS OUTLETS ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS PRODUCTION.

Sources

  1. Tax Foundation
    "State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2021” (Katherine Loughead)
  2. Tax Foundation
    “State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2021" (Janelle Cammenga)
  3. Tax Foundation
    “State and Local Tax Burdens, Calendar Year 2019” (Erica York, Jared Walczak)

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