ALBANY, N.Y. No matter how you measure it, New York State is still No. 1 in combined state and local taxes, a Public Policy Institute analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau data shows.
As of fiscal 2002, New York's state and local taxes averaged $4,645 for every state resident. That figure was the highest in the country, and some 48 percent above the national average of $3,149 per person.
That adds up to a total additional tax burden of $28.6 billion on New Yorkers, compared to what they would pay if state and local taxes here were on a par with the national average, according to the Public Policy Institute, the research affiliate of The Business Council of New York State.
Using another common measure, state and local taxes in New York averaged $131 for every $1,000 of personal income residents earned. That figure is also the highest in the country, 26 percent above average.
The data do not include the state-level tax increases New York's Legislature imposed in 2003, nor the property-tax increases most counties and school districts imposed over the last two years.
Local taxes in the Empire State are especially far out of line with competing states. As of 2002, New Yorkers paid an average of $2,384 per person in property and other taxes to school districts, municipalities and county governments. That figure was 85 percent above the average for all states.
Besides high taxes, New York's state and local-government leaders have incurred a heavy debt burden on behalf of taxpayers. The Institute's analysis found that state and local debt in New York adds up to $10,306 for every state resident, the second-heaviest debt burden in the nation.
High taxes and heavy debt are driven by high spending levels. The state government, school districts, counties, cities, towns and other governmental units spent an average of $10,376 per capita in 2002. That figure was 46 percent above the national average. New York leads the nation in Medicaid spending and is among the national leaders in spending on education, welfare and other programs.
The Institute analyzed new data posted on the Census Bureau Web site July 15. The Census data, which include detailed financial figures for each state.
The new Census data on state and local government finances also showed that New York's combined state and local taxes on individual income are more than twice the national average, as are corporate income taxes, on a per-capita basis. General sales taxes, per capita, were 11 percent higher in New York than nationally.
State and Local Taxes Per Capita, 2002 Rank State Amt. Rank State Amt. 1 NEW YORK $4,645 27 New Hampshire $2,825 2 Connecticut 4,373 28 Georgia 2,816 3 New Jersey 4,038 29 Indiana 2,759 4 Massachusetts 3,721 30 North Dakota 2,727 5 Minnesota 3,673 31 Louisiana 2,722 6 Maryland 3,646 32 North Carolina 2,718 7 Wyoming 3,644 33 Texas 2,713 8 Maine 3,507 34 Florida 2,686 9 California 3,440 35 Missouri 2,667 10 Wisconsin 3,421 36 Arizona 2,650 11 Hawaii 3,416 37 Kentucky 2,636 12 Rhode Island 3,392 38 New Mexico 2,634 13 Delaware 3,334 39 Utah 2,599 14 Illinois 3,303 40 West Virginia 2,571 15 Alaska 3,229 41 Oregon 2,558 16 Washington 3,216 42 Oklahoma 2,516 17 Vermont 3,190 43 Idaho 2,451 18 Ohio 3,170 44 South Dakota 2,423 19 Colorado 3,088 45 Arkansas 2,387 20 Nebraska 3,077 46 South Carolina 2,376 21 Pennsylvania 3,052 47 Montana 2,346 22 Michigan 3,051 48 Mississippi 2,275 23 Virginia 3,037 49 Tennessee 2,241 24 Nevada 2,968 50 Alabama 2,170 25 Kansas 2,941 U.S. average $3,149 26 Iowa 2,837 N.Y.S. % above avg. 47.5% Source: Public Policy Institute calculations from U.S. Census Bureau dataState and Local Taxes Per $1,000 Personal Income, 2002 Rank State Amt. Rank State Amt. 1 NEW YORK $131 27 Connecticut $104 2 Maine 130 28 Alaska 103 3 Wyoming 122 29 Illinois 101 4 Hawaii 121 30 Nevada 101 5 Wisconsin 117 31 Pennsylvania 101 6 Rhode Island 114 32 Washington 101 7 Minnesota 113 33 Indiana 100 8 West Virginia 112 34 Georgia 100 9 New Mexico 111 35 North Carolina 100 10 Louisiana 111 36 Idaho 100 11 Ohio 111 37 Oklahoma 100 12 Vermont 111 38 Montana 98 13 Utah 108 39 Missouri 96 14 Nebraska 108 40 Massachusetts 96 15 Delaware 107 41 South Carolina 96 16 Kentucky 106 42 Texas 95 17 California 106 43 Virginia 95 18 North Dakota 105 44 Florida 94 19 Arizona 104 45 Colorado 92 20 Maryland 104 46 Oregon 91 21 New Jersey 104 47 South Dakota 90 22 Arkansas 104 48 Alabama 88 23 Mississippi 104 49 New Hampshire 85 24 Iowa 104 50 Tennessee 84 25 Michigan 104 U.S. average $104 26 Kansas 104 N.Y.S. % above avg. 26% Source: Public Policy Institute calculations from U.S. Census Bureau data Dollar figures are rounded
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