Show-Me Institute Presents: Comparing Income Tax Liability Across States: Where Does Missouri Rank?

There has been a lot of back and forth regarding whether Missouri is a low-tax state. The truth depends on which tax one looks at. Missouri has the lowest cigarette taxes in the country, but its combined state and local sales taxes rank amongst the highest in the country.

My colleague Rik Hafer and I decided to compare Missouri’s income taxes to those of other states. In our anaylysis, we went beyond looking at states’ top marginal income tax rates or income taxes collected per capita. Using tax preparation software, we examined how much an average family of four would have to pay in income taxes in each state. This is a new way to look at how income taxes actually affect households by giving people an idea of how much they would owe if they were to live in a particular state.

So where does Missouri rank? Give our paper a look and find out.

20150814 – Compairing Income Tax Liability Accross States – Hafer_Rathbone.pdf