Best and worst states for taxes
Income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, corporate taxes—they all add up, but in some states more than others.
The Tax Foundation released a new report Tuesday ranking all 50 states on their "business tax climate," which the foundation said was an effort to highlight how well (or not) states structure their tax systems.
Read MoreTop states for business 2014
A defining feature of the best states, the foundation said, was omitting one of the major taxes altogether (like income or corporate taxes). The worst states, the foundation said, had both numerous taxes and high rates on those levies.
Following is a list of the five best and five worst states, according to the foundation.
—By Ben Berkowitz
First published 28 Oct 2014
THE BEST—1. Wyoming
Wyoming ranked #1 in the country for corporate taxes and income taxes, though it came much closer to the bottom of the pack for unemployment insurance and property taxes.
2. South Dakota
South Dakota tied with Wyoming on corporate and income taxes, did much worse on unemployment levies but did much better on property taxes.
3. Nevada
Nevada did poorly on sales and unemployment taxes but was top 10 in all the other categories of the study.
4. Alaska
Alaska was in the bottom half on corporate and property taxes, but strong rankings for income taxes and sales taxes pulled it into the upper echelons of the survey.
5. Florida
Florida was in the top 20 of all five categories, doing best on the measures of income and unemployment insurance. (Like a number of other states, Florida has no income tax).
THE WORST—46. Vermont
Vermont was among the worst in the nation in almost every category with the exception of sales and unemployment, where it managed to rank in the top 20.
47. Minnesota
Minnesota was in the bottom 20 in almost every category, scoring worst on income taxes.
48. California
California came dead last on income taxes of the 50 states, and was in the bottom 20 for sales taxes and corporate taxes as well.
49. New York
With the exception of a top-20 rank for corporate taxes, New York was in the bottom 20 of most categories. The authors noted New York made a sizable positive jump on corporate taxes due to recently introduced reforms.
50. New Jersey
New Jersey ranked dead last for property taxes and in the bottom three for income and sales taxes as well. Its best showing was 32nd for unemployment insurance taxes.