Best & Worst States to be a Taxpayer

It’s no secret that our tax bills aren’t created equal. But while we’re aware that some states charge no income or sales taxes, we don’t necessarily know whether state-by-state differences in the tax code result in us paying the tax man more or less than our neighbors in other states. To answer that question, WalletHub today released its 2014 Report on the States with the Highest & Lowest Taxes.

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WalletHub compared the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia to the national median in terms of 10 different types of taxation, ranging from state and local income taxes to alcohol and telecomm taxes. You can find a brief overview of our findings below. The average family pays almost $7,000 in state and local taxes per year.

• Taxpayers in the states with the highest taxes pay 4-times more than those in the states with the lowest taxes.
• Red states impose lower taxes with an aggregate score of 19.9 vs 31.4 for blue states (the lower the score the more tax friendly a state is).

States with the Lowest Taxes (vs. National Avg.)

1. Wyoming (-66%)
2. Alaska (-60%)
3. Nevada (-52%)
4. Florida (-48%)
5. South Dakota (-46%)
6. Washington (-45%)
7. Texas (-25%)
8. Delaware (-25%)
9. North Dakota (-20%)
10. Colorado (-18%)

States with the Highest Taxes (vs. National Avg.)

1. Maine (+24%)
2. Iowa (+26%)
3. New Jersey (+27%)
4. Vermont (+27%)
5. Wisconsin (+29%)
6. Illinois (+29%)
7. Connecticut (+31%)
8. Nebraska (+36%)
9. California (+37%)
10. New York (+40%)

For more information about where your state ranks, please visit: [url=http://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-taxes/2416/]http://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-taxes/2416/[/url]