ALBANYNew York once again leads the nation in combined state and local taxes, and the total burden is now over $100 billion, the latest authoritative data from the U.S. Census Bureau show.
The data for fiscal 2004, released today by the Census Bureau, put New York’s per-capita tax burden at $5,260, 53 percent above the national average of $3,447. Connecticut’s tax burden, the second-highest in the nation, was $339 per person lower than New York's.
That adds up to a total additional tax burden of $34 billion on New Yorkers, compared to what they would have paid 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.
New York’s per capita property tax burden was the fourth highest in the nation at $1,677 in taxes levied by local governments. That was 54 percent higher than the national average of $1,086.
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 was $11,377 for every state resident, the third-heaviest debt burden in the nation, and 71 percent above the national average.
The Institute analyzed new data posted on the Census Bureau Web site May 31. The Census data, which include detailed financial figures for each state, are available at www.census.gov/govs/www/estimate04.html.
Rank State Per capita taxburden in 2004 Total state and local taxes in 2004 1 New York $5,260 101,426,262 2 Connecticut $4,921 17,220,114 3 New Jersey $4,555 39,558,277 4 Wyoming $4,437 2,245,265 5 Massachusetts $4,217 27,015,147 6 Maryland $4,016 22,331,127 7 Rhode Island $3,891 4,202,266 8 Hawaii $3,813 4,812,056 9 Minnesota $3,811 19,423,637 10 Maine $3,789 4,982,541 11 California $3,736 133,893,624 12 Wisconsin $3,714 20,440,988 13 Vermont $3,681 2,286,183 14 Alaska $3,610 2,375,631 15 Nebraska $3,609 6,307,884 16 Delaware $3,608 2,994,328 17 Illinois $3,555 45,190,729 18 Washington $3,452 21,424,928 19 Pennsylvania $3,447 42,717,857 20 Ohio $3,419 39,151,223 21 Nevada $3,417 7,971,598 22 Kansas $3,380 9,241,973 23 Virginia $3,342 25,002,305 24 Michigan $3,313 33,478,182 25 Colorado $3,169 14,581,562 26 New Hampshire $3,133 4,069,671 27 Florida $3,094 53,789,454 28 Iowa $3,054 9,018,748 29 Indiana $2,999 18,675,024 30 North Dakota $2,989 1,901,047 31 North Carolina $2,929 25,012,464 32 Oregon $2,917 10,474,210 33 Louisiana $2,899 13,065,430 34 Texas $2,881 64,738,772 35 Georgia $2,877 25,654,760 36 Arizona $2,871 16,481,174 37 New Mexico $2,861 5,444,158 38 Missouri $2,822 16,255,378 39 Kentucky $2,767 11,460,494 40 West Virginia $2,740 4,967,505 41 Utah $2,735 6,621,225 42 Idaho $2,728 3,805,827 43 Oklahoma $2,677 9,434,943 44 South Carolina $2,662 11,176,606 45 Montana $2,623 2,431,335 46 South Dakota $2,615 2,015,928 47 Tennessee $2,536 14,946,638 48 Arkansas $2,536 6,973,165 49 Mississippi $2,444 7,088,719 50 Alabama $2,328 10,535,366 United States avg./total $3,447 1,010,277,275 New York % above national average 53%