September 09, 2004

Tennessee Last in Taxes Paid

Another reason I moved to Tennessee:

New Yorkers pay the highest state and local taxes in the nation, shelling out nearly $131 for every $1,000 of income in 2002, according to a new study.

Tennessee taxed its citizens the least -- they paid just under $84 for every $1,000 of income.

And we still have a revenue surplus. Now if we can just keep our state legislature from screwing it up.

The article goes on:

The study was done by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which assessed states' competitiveness using the most recent data available.

Taxes often play a big role when companies decide where to expand or relocate. For years, New York business groups have argued that high taxes have hurt job growth.

Five states have no personal income tax, and at least two of them, Florida and Nevada, are among the fastest-growing in the nation.

Well, interesting indeed.

Read the entire article.

Comments:

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I'd like to know where MI ranked...particularly since the state is planning on forcing residents to pay their 2005 taxes this year instead of next year, when they would normally be paid...

Posted by: Miss O'Hara at September 10, 2004 08:18 AM

why has MI decided to do that?

Posted by: jakec at September 10, 2004 10:27 AM

That sounds insane! Paying taxes a year early?

Posted by: Jakester at September 10, 2004 10:30 AM

agreed - i couldn't find any info on this subject - can anyone confirm. seems problematic, not to mention inefficient and unlawful.

Posted by: jakec at September 10, 2004 01:14 PM

http://tinyurl.com/6u7av

Posted by: Blake at September 10, 2004 02:24 PM

ah, okay, this hasn't actually passed yet. i hope it doesn't, for their sake.

Posted by: jakec at September 10, 2004 04:17 PM

Well, the saying is you get what you pay for and that's certainly true in the case of Tennessee. We lived there for four years and the schools were lousy, the roads were crowded and parks were in disrepair.
Oh, and I enjoy the hypocrisy of Tennesseans decrying taxes while they enjoy the benefits of cheap power from taxpayer-funded TVA projects.
I was happy to get on the truck and drive away.

Posted by: keiths at September 13, 2004 04:42 PM