New York's state taxes are still higher than those in most other states, but are coming closer to the national average, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau show.
As of fiscal 1998, New York collected $1,989 in taxes for every state resident, the Census Bureau said. That figure was 12.9 percent higher than the national average of $1,761 per capita.
In 1997, New York's state taxes were 15.8 percent above average. The Empire State's rank among all the states also improved slightly, from 10th-highest to 11th, in 1998.
The biggest difference between New York and other states is individual income tax collections, which totaled $1,006 per person here and an average of $598 nationwide.
Corporate income tax collections were $172 per capita in New York, 50 percent higher than the national average of $115.
Sales and gross receipts taxes on public utilities were far out of line in New York at $92 per person, nearly three times the average for all states.
The data, for fiscal years ending in 1998, do not reflect tax reductions Governor Pataki and the Legislature have enacted that took effect in calendar years 1998 or 1999 or are scheduled to take effect in coming years.
Nor do they include taxes imposed by local governments and school districts. Combined state and local taxes in New York are still the highest in the country, more than 53 percent above the national average, according to Census data.
The newly released data on state government taxes are at http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/98tax.txt.