Property taxes vary widely by location, with New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts having the highest median property tax bills for single-family homes in 2023, while West Virginia had the lowest. The amount of property taxes paid is influenced by home values and individual state property tax rates, with hyperlocal variations within states. Homeowners in the greater New York City area, including surrounding cities and suburbs, faced the highest property tax bills, with Westchester County, New York, having the highest median value of $15,373.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has predicted that the UK government is on track to oversee the highest tax levels since records began, with taxes expected to reach about 37% of national income by the next general election in 2024. This would be the highest level since 1948. The IFS analysis also revealed that the government is currently raising more tax revenue, as a percentage of national income, than at any time since the 1940s. The analysis attributes this to decisions to increase government spending, demographic changes, pressures on the health service, and some unwinding of austerity measures. Some Conservative MPs are calling for tax cuts, but Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has stated that tax cuts are "virtually impossible."
The City of Missoula has approved a 9.7% tax increase, causing public outcry and debate over budget priorities. Some residents called for more funding to address homelessness, while others wanted to eliminate spending on the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion program. Opinions varied on whether to cut police or increase funding for social services. Concerns were raised about residents being taxed out of their homes, with blame placed on both the state and the city for the rising taxes. The budget passed with a 9-3 vote, but the challenges of increasing taxes and decreasing service quality remain.
Frustrated residents in Jackson County, Missouri, are protesting against high property tax assessments, with some homeowners reporting increases of over 100%. The burden falls on owners to prove the appraisals are incorrect, a process many consider unfair. The deadline to appeal is July 31, and the board of equalization will begin hearings on Monday. Jackson County legislators are also discussing a proposal to cap property tax assessments at 15% of the 2019 valuation.
Chicago's downtown area is facing an existential crisis due to unused offices and empty retail storefronts, which is rooted in the pandemic and jarring changes in economic cycles. The situation is causing concern in the field of high finance because banks now have on their books more commercial property that's worth less than their mortgages. The incoming Mayor, Brandon Johnson, campaigned on investing in poor areas and narrowing the racial gaps in wealth and opportunity, but he'll find that tending to downtown will be high on the to-do list as it determines Chicago's business climate and raises much of the tax revenue for Johnson's menu of social programs.
A report by personal finance website WalletHub has analyzed the total tax burden by state, measuring the proportion of property tax, income tax and sales tax that people paid. The states with the highest tax burdens were New York, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. The states with the lowest tax burdens were Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Florida, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Missouri and Oklahoma. The report also broke down the tax burden by category, with Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire having the highest burden for property tax, and New York, Maryland and Oregon having the highest burden for income tax.
New York has the highest overall tax burden of all 50 states, according to a new study by WalletHub. The study compared property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes to calculate the proportion of total personal income that residents pay toward state and local taxes. The 10 highest tax states lost nearly 1 in 100 residents in net domestic migration between July 2021 and July 2022, while the 10 lowest tax states gained almost 1 in 100, according to a recent analysis. Some experts argue that higher taxes inhibit economic growth, while others say that certain kinds of public investments can increase economic growth.
A new report from WalletHub shows that taxpayers in some states carry a far heavier burden than others, with residents of states with the highest taxes forking over double their share of annual income as those in the lowest taxed ones. Researchers calculated residents' tax burden by adding up three types of tax types: property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes. Alaska has the lowest overall tax burden at 5.06%, while New York has the highest at 12.47%.
