New York and New Jersey have the worst tax environments for businesses, according to a new index, while Wyoming and South Dakota have the best.
The 11th edition of the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate ranked the tax codes of all 50 states by over 100 tax variables in five different categories -- corporate, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes based on how complex, burdensome or economically harmful they are.
The 10 states with the best tax climates are:
- 1. Wyoming
- 2. South Dakota
- 3. Nevada
- 4. Alaska
- 5. Florida
- 6. Montana
- 7. New Hampshire
- 8. Indiana
- 9. Utah
- 10. Texas
Many of them do without one of the major categories of tax; Florida, for instance, has no individual income tax, while New Hampshire has no sales tax.
The 10 states with the worst tax climates are:
- 41. Iowa
- 42. Connecticut
- 43. Wisconsin
- 44. Ohio
- 45. Rhode Island
- 46. Vermont
- 47. Minnesota
- 48. California
- 49. New York
- 50. New Jersey
They all have complex, non-neutral taxes with comparatively high rates, according to the Tax Foundation. New Jersey, for instance, has a particularly high property tax burden, and is one of two states to levy both an inheritance tax and an estate tax.
For a map, and the complete report, visit the
