{"id":6640,"date":"2012-03-05T14:27:47","date_gmt":"2012-03-05T19:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/?p=6640"},"modified":"2012-10-29T10:18:15","modified_gmt":"2012-10-29T14:18:15","slug":"best-of-stateimpact-is-nh-really-as-anti-tax-as-its-cracked-up-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/03\/05\/best-of-stateimpact-is-nh-really-as-anti-tax-as-its-cracked-up-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Of StateImpact: Is N.H. Really As Anti-Tax As It’s Cracked Up To Be?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Donkey Hotey \/ Flickr<\/p>

StateImpact wants to know: Is New Hampshire really an anti-tax state?<\/p><\/div>\n

Since StateImpact launched late last summer, some of our most popular posts have revolved around taxes.\u00a0 Given that New Hampshire has neither a sales nor an income tax — and notoriously high property taxes — we don’t find this trend surprising.\u00a0 As the site has gained momentum, and clicks, we’ve occasionally found it helpful to bring some of our earlier, relevant posts to your attention.\u00a0 This particular piece, comparing New Hampshire’s tax culture to Iowa and Washington State, was popular early on, and, in case you missed it, we thought we’d offer you another look.I’ve written a few posts recently about Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan.\u00a0 (You can read the first post here<\/a>.) \u00a0The second post, “Cain’s 9-9-9 Touches Third Rail of New Hampshire Tax Policy<\/a>,” generated a number of comments from StateImpact readers, but this one, part of a larger comment from Anonymous, stood out:<\/p>\n

“…As for the whole notion Granite Staters \u2014 unlike any other around the nation \u2014 don\u2019t like paying taxes, have you met a lot of people who don\u2019t live in NH who LIKE paying taxes? Come on, we are not some exotic breed. We need to stop swallowing our own marketing about \u201ctax-free NH.\u201d Paid your property taxes lately?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anonymous’ comment leads to an interesting question \u2014 how anti-tax is New Hampshire, anyway?\"\"<\/p>\n

It’s important to make some points clear:\u00a0 This post is not<\/em> a judgment on New Hampshire’s attitudes toward taxes.\u00a0 This post also is\u00a0not<\/em> an endorsement of any particular tax policy.\u00a0 It’s only an attempt to determine whether it is, in fact, fair to characterize New Hampshire as an “anti-tax state.”<\/p>\n

How The New Hampshire Tax Burden Stacks Up Nationally<\/h3>\n

For a long-time Granite Stater, New Hampshire might not seem particularly anti-tax.\u00a0 Besides, New Hampshire has the second-highest property taxes in the country, after New Jersey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But there’s a key difference between these two states.\u00a0 New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the country…and <\/em>a general income tax and <\/em>a general sales tax.\u00a0 By contrast, New Hampshire uses its high property taxes, in part, to make up for revenue lost by not having broad-based income or sales taxes.<\/p>\n

The only other state not to have either a general sales or income tax is Alaska, which has the advantage of oil revenues.<\/p>\n

So how do the other no-sales-tax states stack up to New Hampshire, in terms of tax burden?\u00a0 A good place to look is the Tax Foundation<\/a>, a research group based in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Using data up to FY 2009, the Tax Foundation did the following<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“For each state, we calcu\u00adlate the total amount paid by the residents in taxes, then divide those taxes by the state’s total income to compute a ‘tax burden.’ We make this calculation not only for the most recent year but also for earlier years because tax and income data are revised periodically by govern\u00adment agencies. The goal is to focus not on the tax collec\u00adtors but on the taxpayers. That is, we answer the question: What percentage of their income are the residents of this state paying in state and local taxes?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s the map the foundation published last winter (click this link for a map you can zoom in on<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Tax Foundation<\/em><\/p>\n

State and Local Tax Burdens By State: 2009<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There are five states that don’t have a sales tax.\u00a0 But that doesn’t necessarily alleviate individual tax burden, as the Tax Foundation map demonstrates.\u00a0 Here’s an individual look at the burden faced by sales-tax-free states (as of 2009):<\/p>\n