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Having lived in states that have high income tax/low/no sales tax vs states with no income tax/high property tax (which I know isn't sales tax) the high income tax state wins hands down. If you look at information on the quality of life in a state there is a direct correlation between high taxes and high quality of life.
Please cite some of this information. I think your post is simply indefensible since there is no clear definition of "high quality of life."
I moved from Cali (high state income tax + high sales tax) to Alaska (no state income tax + no sales tax) and the difference is remarkable. On say an income of 120K one saves $12K in state tax and income tax right off the top. Plus when I purchase from out of state I pay no sales tax. Try that on a new computer system and you quickly see the savings.
My property tax is about 3K for a home that borders national forest which I paid $200K for. The quality of life here is superior. Services police and fire are adequate and schools are good.
I mean yes Winter can be long and hard but it is also beautiful. Though gas is pricey ($3.17) my commute is 10 minutes and there is free parking.
I can tell ya plain that when you don't have the state bagging away your income and cutting services at the same time you tend to like it.
My property tax is about 3K for a home that borders national forest which I paid $200K for. The quality of life here is superior. Services police and fire are adequate and schools are good.
But isn't part of the reason they can have low/no taxes is due to the oil money the state gets? Other states don't have this income. So it's not possible to correlate services with taxes.
Please cite some of this information. I think your post is simply indefensible since there is no clear definition of "high quality of life."
Well, lets see, high income tax state-top schools in the nation, low income tax state schools ranked 48th in the nation, high income tax state-great roads, low income tax state-dismal roads, high income tax state-great social programs, low income tax state, no social programs, high income tax state-highly educated population, low income tax state-ranks near the bottom for overall education level, high income tax state-great snow removal in the winter, low income tax state-horrible snow removal in the winter.
Now, we would consider moving back to the low income tax state when we retire because of the low income tax.
After have lived in four different states during my working career, we retired to a low-tax state [Me] which borders a 'no income tax' state [NH].
We commony see discussions on this topic. Live across the border and you pay no income taxes, however their property taxes are incredibly high, sales taxes, vehicle taxes, etc. What they fail to bring in via income taxes, they make up for via all the other taxes.
Here our property taxes are very low, vehicle taxes are not horrible, and at least as a retiree my pension is below the cut-off for paying income taxes.
This past year my Dw got promoted at her job, she went from p/t to f/t. While we live in an 'income tax' state, during the past four years we have not been paying any because our combined income was too low. For 2009 her increased income caused us to have to pay a small amount of income taxes. It was still far less then living across that border in NH.
If you are low income [or on pension], there is a huge advantage to living in an income tax state.
Yes, property taxes are high (but still low relative to many states)....but those are set by the towns, not the state. The money is kept at a local level, where it should be, and people have a huge say in the services their money is used for (or not).
In any case, it still affords us one of the lowest tax rates in the country ( I believe it is the 3rd lowest overall).
In an economy such as ours with too much consumption relative to production, taxes should be shifted to sales/VAT (i.e. consumption-based taxes) and away from income-based. This would help dramatically in terms of increasing production, investment and savings. Demand might fall a bit, but not significantly.
As for progressive/regressive taxes, in all honestly, that's a silly thing for policy makers to consider.
Well, lets see, high income tax state-top schools in the nation, low income tax state schools ranked 48th in the nation, high income tax state-great roads, low income tax state-dismal roads, high income tax state-great social programs, low income tax state, no social programs, high income tax state-highly educated population, low income tax state-ranks near the bottom for overall education level, high income tax state-great snow removal in the winter, low income tax state-horrible snow removal in the winter.
Now, we would consider moving back to the low income tax state when we retire because of the low income tax.
You aren't citing any data - just your opinion.
Massachusetts public schools are very good. They have high taxes.
California public school are not good at all. They have high taxes.
California roads and general infrastructure is not in good shape. They have high taxes as already noted.
Great snow removal? Is that a quality of life indicator? I never read that as something people look for when they choose a place to live.
Please tell me what is really good about New Jersey. Some of the highest taxes of all kinds (income, property, and sales). One of the most corrupt states (with Illinois, Louisiana, New York). High crime rate (don't tax dollars pay for police and the justice system?).
Well, lets see, high income tax state-top schools in the nation, low income tax state schools ranked 48th in the nation, high income tax state-great roads, low income tax state-dismal roads, high income tax state-great social programs, low income tax state, no social programs, high income tax state-highly educated population, low income tax state-ranks near the bottom for overall education level,
Complete nonsense not supported by facts. Look at the SAT/ACT scores. South Dakota,Washington and Wyoming are in the top 20 and have no state income tax. North and South Carolina are 49th and 50th and have state income taxes in the 7% range.
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