SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - The Tax Foundation says just over 7% of all income in South Dakota went to state and local taxes.
Foundation Economist Nicole Kaeding says the state-local tax burden ranks South Dakota 49th. Kaeding says that means South Dakota has the country's second lowest state-local tax burden. She says its primarily because there is no individual or corporate income tax.
Kaeding says a significant amount of taxation happens across state lines and that's calculated into the total tax burden. We pay sales tax not only in Sioux Falls but also when we are on vacation in another state. She says that shifting has to be considered in the tabulation.
New Yorkers pay the most, with 12.7% of income going to state and local taxes. Followed by Connecticut (12.6%) and New Jersey (12.2%)
On the other end of the burden is Alaska (6.5%), South Dakota (7.1%) and Wyoming (7.1%).
The Tax Foundation report notes that taxpayers pay the most to their own state and local governments. And tax burdens are very close to one another. Delaware (16th) and Colorado (35th) only differ in burden by just over one percentage point. But states at the top and bottom have significantly different burden percentages.
The Tax Foundation is an independent tax policy research organization in Washington D.C.