Annual State-Local Tax Burden Ranking FY 2011

by Liz Malm and Gerald Prante, The Tax Foundation, April 2, 2014 (excerpt)

…Generally, there are three reasons why a state’s ranking could change from year to year. First, there could have been a change in total collections by the state, either due to policy changes or economic fluctuations. Second, there may have been a change in the level of state income as a result of the economy. And third, other states to which residents pay state and local taxes could have seen changes in tax collections (again due to changing policy or economic conditions).

The most pronounced changes in burdens between 2010 and 2011 occurred in Wyoming (decrease of 1.1 percentage points), Hawaii (decrease of 0.8 percentage points), and South Dakota (decrease of 0.8 percentage points).

Wyoming’s relatively large decrease moved it down the rankings list, from 46th in 2010 to last place in 2011. Hawaii moved from 14th to 20th, but South Dakota’s burden barely changed (from 49th in 2010 to 48th in 2011). The largest movement in rank occurred in Delaware. The state had a ranking of 30th in 2010 but moved up to 15th in 2011.

Only two states (Delaware and Maryland) and Washington, DC saw an increase in residents’ burdens as a share of income. Delaware’s burden increased from 9.5 percent in 2010 to 10.1 percent in 2011. Maryland’s burden only increased by 0.1 percentage points, from 10.5 percent in 2010 to 10.6 percent in 2011. Washington, DC’s burden increased from 9.2 percent in 2010 to 9.7 percent in 2011….

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