[mikeweiss]

Except people living in one of the nine states that don't have income taxes. They're laughing all the way to the bank.

[JKCalhoun]

> They're laughing all the way to the bank.

Laughing I suppose until they get their property tax bill, or pay incessant road tolls.

(Sorry, I clearly have an axe to grind.)

[s0rce]

I lived in WA and NV and didn't notice either of these. I miss not having to deal with state taxes not to mention the 10% of my income that goes away to who knows what.

[Izkata]

Also in Ilinois, the state tax form starts with "enter line __ from your federal form" so you don't have to redo stuff. Dunno if others do that.

[WesleyJohnson]

Are the sales taxes generally higher in those states, which offset the lack of income tax?

[everforward]

Depends on the state, some have higher property taxes.

Higher sales tax tends to be regressive because it doesn’t tax money you don’t spend, nor does it tax things where sales tax doesn’t apply like buying assets.

[dragonwriter]

> Are the sales taxes generally higher in those states, which offset the lack of income tax?

Sales and property taxes are often higher, but this (which shifts the tax burden down the income distribution compared to progressive income taxes) usually does not fully offset the lack of income tax; the no income tax states are generally low average tax burden states (but may still have higher tax burden at low-to-moderate income.)

[BeetleB]

Depends on the income tax you compare with.

My state is 9%, and it kicks in at under $20K. No state has a high enough sales tax to offset that income tax.

Concrete numbers: Say you and spouse collectively make $300K. That's a bit under $30K in state income tax. On top of that you'd pay property taxes (admittedly low).

Sorry Texas, but your property + sales tax isn't that high.

[knute]

Sales and/or property taxes are typically used to make up the difference. TANSTAAFL