The Center Square

The effective state and local tax rate for Colorado residents in 2019 was 9.4 percent, the 34th highest percentage among the 50 states, according to a new ranking published by the Tax Foundation.

Across the United States, the average state-local tax burden came in at 10.3 percent of Americans’ combined income, the study said. Generally, state-local tax rates rose in 2019 over the previous year as tax collections outpaced overall income growth, the Tax Foundation’s analysis found.

The foundation’s researchers also point out that about a fifth of states’ tax revenues come from nonresidents, such as tourists and out-of-state homeowners. Based on the latest economic data available, the study accounted for this and looked primarily at state and local levies paid by each state’s residents.

In the resulting data table quantifying state and local tax burdens, the states’ numbers tend to be clustered tightly in the center, with percentages widening at the top and bottom of the table, according to the Tax Foundation.

Levies examined in the study include general sales taxes, property taxes, excise taxes on products such as alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, license taxes on vehicles, individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, and estate, inheritance and gift taxes.

State and Local Tax Burdens, From Highest to Lowest

Source: Tax Foundation