Taxing Our Patience
Between 1977 and 1988, reports Money magazine, state tax revenues grew 144 percent, outpacing both the 121-percent rise in federal tax revenue and the 88-percent rate of inflation. Granted, economic growth helped push revenues up, but state governments also enacted a host of new taxes and raised the rates of many existing ones. In 1989 alone, 30 states passed some type of tax hike.
Money estimated the total tax bill that its typical reader would pay in each state, including all state taxes—income, sales, capital gains, etc. (Local taxes, such as property taxes, weren't included.) The estimates assume a family of four with two incomes and a total household income of $61,372. Hawaii proved most expensive, with a whopping $4,500 tax bill, while tax-haven New Hampshire lived up to its reputation, with the lowest bill—a measly $132.
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "Taxing Our Patience."
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?