Posted on 12/08/2022 9:37:08 PM PST by SeekAndFind
A new report lists the Land of Lincoln as the least tax-friendly state in the nation for middle-class families.
The report was done by Kiplinger and ranked the 10 worst states for middle-class families when looking at the state's overall tax burden.
"Sorry, Illinois, but you're the least tax-friendly state in the country for middle-class families," the report said.
Illinois finished poorly on the list due to the impact on the middle class from the state's flat income tax rate, average combined state and local sales tax and its high property tax burden that ranks second highest in the country.
"We have an extraordinarily high tax burden, and you're asking the middle class to foot the bill for everything that we do in government," state Rep. Mike Marron, R-Danville, said. "We're not very judicious with how we spend money in Springfield, which is a huge problem. The middle class bears the brunt of that."
Illinois is a donor state, which means they give more in federal taxes than the state receives per capita, said state Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago. He claims this is the main issue hurting the middle class.
"We need to overcome the fact that we are a donor state," Ford told The Center Square. "When you look at what states are more friendly to taxpayers, they are usually not donor states."
Ford said that past leadership has also played a part in hindering the growth of the state's middle class.
"We had a horrible tenure of [former Gov. Bruce Rauner] that really hurt the taxpayers," Ford said. "It's been a combination of being unable to bring more money back from the federal government and mismanagement over the years."
Rauner hasn't been in office since 2019 and served only four years. Former Democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan served for nearly 40 years and faces two dozen federal corruption-related charges tied to his role as speaker.
Marron told The Center Square that Illinois might be too far into trouble to fix issues plaguing the middle class.
"I think being realistic, the state is set in its ways, and it would be tough to change, but that does not mean we should not try," Marron said. "That also doesn't mean that we cannot change things."
Illinois is one of six states in the Midwest listed on Kiplinger's top 10 worst states for middle-class residents.
TOP 10 LEAST TAX FRIENDLY STATES FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS :
1. Illinois
2. Connecticut
3. Iowa
4. New Jersey
5. New York
6. Kansas
7. Maryland
8. Wisconsin
9. Nebraska
10. Michigan
totally agree!
The nerve of peasants even asking about the tithe to their masters! Off with their heads!
Well, Governor Hogan may be a RINO at the national level, but he sure kept the DemocRATS in check with not allowing them to raise Maryland state taxes. With a new leftist DemocRAT assuming the governorship in January, it’s going to be Katie Bar the Door in Maryland with them being in ABSOLUTE power. Maryland will be climbing these unfriendly steps up that list.
No wonder southern Pennsylvania is overrun by Maryland taxiles!
Makes sense. My wife’s niece is a school teacher near Greenville, not too far from a stretch of old Route 66. She’s literally counting down the hours when she can retire and get the heck out of there.
Their report for Virginia fails to mention the personal property tax.
What a huge oversight. Those taxes can be over $1K a year on a late-model vehicle.
And how many of these middle class useful idiota vote for the democrats that make their life miserable?
A new report lists the Land of Lincoln as the least tax-friendly state in the nation for middle-class families.
So; OK, what exactly is a ‘middle class family’?
The Illinois government has been corrupt for years.
Also, I suspect that taxpayers in Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin and Nebraska get more state services for their tax dollars than taxpayers in the other states.
We’re also infiltrated by the liberal/leftist/socialist/communist/Marxist/anarchist scum from:
4. New Jersey
I agree. There is no way California isn’t in the top ten!
I’m shocked to not see CA on the list. Prop 13 must offset very high income and sales taxes.
Iowa is on this list but not Taxachusetts, home of Fauxcahauntaus?
OK, for those of us who ask why this state or that state isn’t on the list, maybe it would be appropriate to ask HOW Kiplinger’s came out with this list by looking at their METHODOLOGY. Here it is:
About Our Methodology
Our tax maps and related tax content include data from a wide range of sources. To generate our rankings, we created a metric to compare the tax burden in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Data sources:
Income tax – Our income tax information comes from each state’s tax agency. Income tax forms and instructions were also used. Unless otherwise noted, the rates and threshold amounts listed are for the 2022 tax year. See more about how we calculated the income tax for our hypothetical family below under “Ranking method.”
Property tax – The median property tax rate is based on the median property taxes paid and the median home value in each state for 2020 (the most recent year available). The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau(opens in new tab). By using data on taxes actually paid and median home values, differences between the cost of housing from one state to another are factored into the equation (although the median property tax rate is still a statewide figure).
Sales tax – State sales tax rates are from each state’s tax agency. We also cite the Tax Foundation’s(opens in new tab) 2022 average combined sales tax rate, which is a population-weighted average of state and local sales taxes. In states that let local governments add sales taxes, this gives an estimate of what most people in a given state actually pay, as those rates can vary widely.
Ranking method
The “tax-friendliness” of a state depends on the sum of income, sales and property tax paid by our hypothetical family.
To determine income tax, we prepared tax returns for each state and the District of Columbia for a married couple with two dependent children, an earned income of $77,000, long-term capital gains of $1,500, qualified dividends of $1,000, and taxable interest of $500. They had $4,500 in state income taxes withheld from their wages. They also paid $3,000 in real estate taxes, paid $2,800 in mortgage interest, and donated $2,300 (cash and property) to charity. We calculated these 2020 returns using software from Credit Karma (some adjustments were made to account for certain 2021 tax law changes).
How much they paid in sales taxes was calculated using the sales tax deduction tables in the instructions for federal Schedule A (Form 1040)(opens in new tab) and the Tax Foundation’s(opens in new tab) 2021 midyear average combined sales tax rates.
Several decades. Four governors went to prison in the last sixty years, IIRC.
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