2015’s Most & Least Fair State Tax Systems

by John S Kiernan, Wallet Hub, September 21, 2015

With summer ending, the 2016 elections are starting to heat up. And, as usual, tax policy is a hot-button issue, as political candidates from both sides of the aisle claim their plan is more “fair.” But what does a fair tax system look like? Which states actually have the fairest tax systems?

WalletHub analyzed and ranked the 50 states based on the fairness of their state and local tax systems — including income taxes, sales and excise taxes, and property taxes. To rank the states, Wallethub used the results of a nationally representative online survey of 1,050 individuals to assess what Americans think a fair state and local tax system looks like. Our analysts then compared public perception to data on the real structure of tax systems in all 50 states.

We believe this is the first ever ranking of state and local tax fairness that matches representative data on what Americans consider “fair” with real data on the structure of state and local tax systems.

HAWAII

• 48th -- State/Local Tax Fairness: Overall Ranking
• 4th -- States Where Middle Class is Most Overtaxed
• 2nd -- States Where Poor Most Overtaxed
• 5th least -- Dependency on Property Taxes (1=least)
• 47th least -- Dependency on Sales & Excise Taxes (1=least)
• 12th least -- Dependency on Income (Personal & Corp.) Taxes (1=least)
• 24th least -- Dependency on Other Taxes (1=least)

read ... 2015’s Most & Least Fair State Tax Systems

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