PA tax burden among highest in the country

Pennsylvania ranks 11th in the nation for state and local tax burden, according to a new report released by the Tax Foundation.

The ranking is Pennsylvania's worst showing in more than 30 years, says the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Pennsylvania residents are forced to spend 10.2 cents of every dollar they earn to cover their state and local tax bills, according the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania's per-capita income totaled $43,796, with total taxes paid at $4,463, of that, $3,054 was paid to the Commonwealth, and $1,409 per capita was paid to other states, says the Pittsburgh Business News.

The Tax Foundation said Pennsylvania's tax climate was at its best in 1990 when the Commonwealth ranked 24th in tax burden, the Pittsburgh Business News reports.

New Jersey is No. 1 on the 2008 tax burden list, narrowly edging New York.

New Jersey taxpayers carry the heaviest tax load — 11.8 cents for every dollar earned, a tenth of a penny higher than No. 2 New York, the Tax Foundation says.

Connecticut is No. 3 on the list, with residents paying 11.1 cents for state and local taxes.

Alaska residents pay the least tax burden: 6.4 cents of every dollar, the tax survey says. Nevada is No. 2 at 6.6 cents of every dollar.

Pennsylvania, ranked No. 12 in last year's report, moved up one spot on the 2008 tax burden list. The state has hovered around the Top 10 in tax burden ever since Gov. Ed Rendell took office in 2003.

The national average for the year that ended June 30, 2008, is 9.7 cents of every dollar, according to the Tax Foundation.

The overall tax burden across the country is down slightly this year, says the Tax Foundation.

From the report:

Tax burdens are down from 2007 to 2008, mostly because income growth outpaced tax growth as the macroeconomy slowed. The largest drops were in Florida, Utah and the District of Columbia where the taxpayers' burden dropped by 0.5 percentage points between 2007 and 2008. Most state residents' tax burdens inched down a couple tenths of a percent, mirroring the national average which dipped from 9.9 percent to 9.7 percent.

To read the full report by Gerald Prante, Senior Economist for the Tax Foundation, go to the Foundation's Web site.