Below is an interesting chart I generated from a recently updated Tax Foundation report showing the 2008 state and local tax burden per capita for the United States, the 50 states and the District of Columbia (click on it to get a better view). For comparison purposes, the bars are color-coded based on who they voted for in the 2008 presidential election.
It’s interesting to note the disparity in the level of taxation imposed by different governments on their residents — particularly when comparing blue states to red states. Of course, since this is in actual dollars, the cost-of-living differences among the states would also need to be factored in. To that end, the entire report contains much more interesting data on taxation, including data showing the state and local tax burdens as percentages of state income.
[…] an example of hypocrisy. Perhaps one reason that the blue states give less is that they often pay higher taxes per capita, leaving them with less income to spend on charitable donations. Also, in Obama and Biden’s […]
[…] post, I noted that perhaps one reason the blue states give less is because they also often pay higher taxes per capita, leaving them with less income to spend on charity. The effect of such higher taxation is […]