Comparing The State Taxes
Out of all fifty states in America, there are only five that do not collect sales taxes
. These include Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon.
On the other hand, the highest states that collect this kind of money are California (which collects seven point twenty-five percent), and Mississippi, Indiana, and Tennessee (which all collects seven percent). The rest of the states vary in how much they charge from two point nine percent to six point five percent.
Every individual state in America does have a tax rate on beer and cigarettes. The money you would owe on beer ranges from two cents (in Wyoming) to one dollar and seven cents in Alaska.
Cigarettes charges range from seven cents in South Carolina to two dollars and seventy-five cents in New York. But there is also a federal tax on top of that which has jumped from thirty-nine cents to one whole dollar this past April.
Alaska is the only state that does not collect any money on all of the gas that you buy but there still is a federal collection of eighteen point four cents per gallon. As far as personal income, there are forty-one states that collect money.
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not collect anything on your personal income. While New Hampshire and Tennessee apply it only to income from interest and dividends.
Property taxes are one of the biggest sources of revenue for local governments. They are not imposed on by the state but you cannot find a piece of land that will not be taxed on.
Cities, townships, counties, and school districts all collect money off of the property that you own. The better the area in which you live, the more money the local governments can collect from you.
So if you live in a really nice neighborhood, more money collected will go to your schools and cities. The state has to specify a maximum rate on the value of your property and then figure out a percentage of that amount to charge you.
They give the local governments a legal standard from the formula they came up with for the amount to charge on property. Usually after you hit a certain age, they will give you breaks so that you do not owe as much.
Also those that have a low income can qualify for some kind of a break. There are property tax relief programs that can freeze the assessed value of your land once you hit a certain age and where you can get a deferral until the homeowner moves or dies.
Once you are retired, you have a fixed income. So you need to make sure that wherever you settle down that you can afford the taxes that come with it.
Obviously a state with a lower burden (less money to collect from the people who live there) will be more attractive to people than one that charges higher amounts on everything. When figuring out the cost of living, you have to include all of these hidden charges that people usually do not think about.
But if you do not drink beer, do not let that tax keep you from living in California where they will charge you over an extra seven percent on the dollar. If you want to own some property and save a little bit more money doing so (at least save a lot more money than you would in California), then look at places to live in like Louisiana where they pay the least amount.
The places where it would cost the most to live are in New York and New Jersey (specifically Westchester, Hunterdon, and Nassau counties) where the median real state amount paid were over eight thousand dollars each year during the years of 2006 to 2008. The national average is about two point eighty-five percent for property money collected every year.
When deciding where to retire, it would be beneficial to you and your finances to look at how much you would be paying to live there. And you need to look specifically at the property and personal income taxes that you would owe.
by: Jack Landry
Dave Matthews Band Tickets – NFL Kickoff Performance All the NFL fans and viewers are welcome to Get NFL football full schedule 2010 here (preseason and regular season both) Live Dallas Cowboys VS San Diego Chargers NFL Preseason Week 2 on August 21, 2010 Cowboys VS Chargers live stream NFL Preseason Week 2 on your PC on August 21, 2010 Watch San Diego Chargers VS Dallas Cowboys live stream NFL Preseason Week 2 on Aug 21 Moving Away To France? You Need French Tax Advice Can I Claim My Tax Back? Understanding The Tax Gap Benefits Of Hiring A Tax Attorney Benefits Of Washington Foreclosures And State Tax Lien Laws Saints VS Texans live stream NFL Preseason Week 2 on your PC on August 21, 2010 Why Are Tax Bills Always A Surprise: Planning For The Year Ahead Preparing For Tax Time