Forbes: The Best And Worst States For Taxes

by Erin Carlisle, Forbes, (excerpts)

Many states have a graduated system — the most complicated one is Hawaii with 12 different rates for income in different brackets....

...only 10 states have special rates for earners raking in more than $200,000 annually: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin–plus the District of Columbia....

But income tax alone isn’t the whole picture, since two other factors significantly affect the cost to live in a given state: sales and property taxes.“Those are certainly the big three that dominate most people’s considerations and that people care about,” said Jared Walczak, policy analyst with the Tax Foundation.

Using data from the Tax Foundation, Forbes ranked the total tax burden in each state. The ranking includes income, property, and sales tax, as well as special taxes like real estate transfer taxes, personal property taxes on some vehicles, and special tax district fees.The state with the highest burden, New York (No. 50), ranks dead last, while Wyoming, (No. 1) nabs the top slot. See where your state stacks up....

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No. 31: Hawaii

State and local tax burden: 9.60%

Effective state tax rate ($50,000 taxable income): 6.76%

Highest tax bracket: $200,000

Rate at highest tax bracket: 11.00%

Per Capita Income: $44,255