Taxation in the Fifty States, With Special Attention on the Lone Star State

Abstract

State taxes have been in the news nationally due to changes in the deductibility of state income taxes on federal income tax returns, as well as locally, as citizens in Texas and other states protest rising property taxes. State and local taxes differ of course across state (and local) boundaries. Given the outcry about property taxes in particular, the authors look at state-level data to examine how various states collect tax revenue, paying particular attention to how each relies on personal income taxes, property taxes, and sales taxes. This study illustrates the relative size of total tax collections by each state, with some state collecting a far higher percentage of their citizen’s personal income compared to other states. This study also looks at the intensity with which each of these various taxes are levied, examining how income taxes, property taxes, and sales tax vary relative to personal income across the fifty states.