It is very important to take time to look at the big picture issues relating to your tax situation, because taxes impact on your life and livelihood every day.

Longitudinal research

The Internal Revenue Service conducted research from 2005 to 2010 and it showed that successful people and businesses often choose to relocate from states with higher tax environments.

Successful states have the highest number of tax payers

If you are staying in a higher tax environment state you may have lower numbers of tax payers because of the drain of successful reliable tax payers to other states.

Whether a business or a sole trader

If you own a business, you may be wondering where your company will pay the least tax, whether you are just starting, expanding, or thinking of relocating. Alternatively, taxes can have a huge impact on your decision to become a self-employed entrepreneur.

More complex than it seems

Taxes are just one factor you need to take into consideration when deciding on where to live or whether to relocate, however, they can play an important role. For example, a move to a low-tax state from a high-tax state could be the same as a permanent pay rise for you and your middle-class family.

Balancing the sheets

Some people argue that no and low-income states experience booms and high-income tax states are threatened with busts, however, higher revenue collection can result in better quality of life regardless of any cycles. For example, responsible governments can pass benefits back to you through their policies that can bring more comprehensive community infrastructure like public transport, and better education and health services.

2012 State Business Tax Climate Index (Index)

The Washington based independent research group, The Tax Foundation, has recently published their 2012 Index to enable business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to compare state performances. Their lists take all relevant tax matters into account and rank the states based on their overall estimated tax burden on 1 July 2011.

The Index is a hierarchical structure comprising five areas with a separate weighting: corporate tax (20.3%), individual income tax (33.1%), sales tax (21.4%), property tax (14.1%), and unemployment insurance tax (11.1%). The methodology takes into account comparing states without a tax, as well as normalizing final scores.

According to the results, the 10 top States in the Index are:

1. Wyoming
2. South Dakota
3. Nevada
4. Alaska
5. Florida
6. New Hampshire
7. Washington
8. Montana
9. Texas
10. Utah

The top three have no corporate or individual income tax; Alaska has no individual income or state-level sales tax; Florida has no individual income tax; and New Hampshire and Montana have no sales tax.

The 10 lowest ranked States in the Index are:

41. Iowa
42. Maryland
43. Wisconsin
44. North Carolina
45. Minnesota
46. Rhode Island
47. Vermont
48. California
49. New York
50. New Jersey

New Jersey is ranked number fifty because it has the third-highest individual income tax, the fifth-highest sales tax, the thirteenth-highest corporate tax, and the second-highest property tax.

Success Tax Relief staff is highly experienced in providing a range of services to clients and this includes assistance with understanding state and local tax rules. Call 1-877-825-1179 now so that they can get started working for you.