New Jersey Highest Tax Burden

The Tax Foundation of Washington, D.C released a study today announcing that New Jerseyans have the heaviest state-local tax burden in the nation. This should come as little surprise since our residents - as well as employers - have traditionally paid some of the highest taxes in the U.S. Hopefully, new policies will be enacted to ease the tax burden so that we can focus on growing our economy and creating much needed jobs. High taxes compared to the rest of the nation - and world - is often cited as the number one issue negatively impacting New Jersey's economic growth efforts, according to chamber studies and surveys conducted over the years.

Key findings of the Tax Foundation study include:

• Tax burdens are down from 9.9 percent of income in 2007 to 9.7 percent in 2008, mostly because income growth outpaced tax growth as the macroeconomy slowed.

• In 2008, the residents of New Jersey pay the most, 11.8 percent of their income. New York and Connecticut are the only other states where residents pay more than 11 percent, compared to a national average of 9.7 percent. Maryland and Hawaii round out the top five.

• Alaskans pay the least, 6.4 percent in 2008, Nevadans pay 6.6 percent, and residents of Wyoming, Florida, New Hampshire and South Dakota pay between 7 and 8 percent of their income in state-local taxes.

To view the complete study visit, click here.