(The Center Square) – New Hampshire features one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation, according to a new report. WalletHub released its report, “2023’s Tax Burden By State,” which shows only two states have a lower tax burden than the Granite State.
New Hampshire ranked 48th in the study that takes property tax, individual income tax, and sales and excise tax burdens into consideration.
The report, which uses data from Tax Policy Center, scored states on how those taxes affect residents’ income. It illustrates how the tax burden measures the proportion of what residents pay in state and local taxes.
Michael Simkovic, professor of law and accounting at the Gould School of Law at University of Southern California, said the relationship between state tax burden and economic growth is dependent on what is taxed and how that revenue is put to work.
“You tend to get less of what you tax,” he said. “Income taxes are generally thought to be more harmful to economic growth than property taxes. Spending on education, infrastructure and public safety tends to do more to promote economic growth than spending on retirement, disability or unemployment benefits.”
New Hampshire has a 6.14% total tax burden, according to the report. The state came in third in property tax burden at 4.94%; ranked 42nd in individual income tax burden at 0.13%; and came in last with a 1.07% total sales and excise tax burden.
Simkovic went on to say that income taxes, “especially on capital gains or focused on very high-end bonuses, tend to be more cyclical than sales taxes or property taxes.”
| By Brent Addleman – The Center Square – Mar 24, 2023
