They say the only sure things in life are death and taxes. One other fairly certain thing? People hate paying taxes.
So what to do if you want to pay a little less to Uncle Sam? According to new data, move west.
A new report from personal finance website WalletHub says those states with the lowest tax burdens tend to be on the West Coast — states like Alaska, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada.
The "Last Frontier" state, Alaska, actually sits at the top of the list in terms of lowest tax burden. That's likely due to its ranking across several of WalletHub's metrics. (Video via State of Alaska)
The state ties for first for lowest average vehicle property tax; it's sixth for lowest average income tax and fourth for lowest average sales and excise tax.
Next up, though not on the West Coast, is the "Liberty and Independence" state of Delaware.
The tiny state on the Eastern Seaboard also ties for first for lowest average vehicle property tax. It ranks third and fourth respectively on lowest average sales and excise tax and real estate tax.
Rounding out the top five for lowest tax burden were those other Western states we mentioned — Montana, Wyoming and Nevada.
Outside of its four main categories, the report also got into a few more specific taxes. In terms of gas tax rates, Alaska again won out with the lowest.
While Mississippi earned the dubious honor of worst food tax rates.
Your exact geographic location isn't the only factor determining your tax rate though. The political powers that be in your state might also play a role.
According to the report, states that voted Democrat in the 2012 presidential election tended to have higher taxes overall than states that voted Republican.
As WalletHub writes in the report, they came to their conclusions by analyzing “how state and local tax rates compare to the national average in the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia.”
You can read the full report at WalletHub.com.
This video includes images from Philip Taylor / CC BY 2.0, Boston Public Library / CC BY 2.0, Rennett Stowe / CC BY 2.0 and Denise Cross Photography / CC BY 2.0.
