The last time you picked up groceries or bought new clothes, you probably had to pay a sales tax. General sales taxes, which apply to most goods and services, are one of the biggest sources of tax revenue for state and local governments. These sales taxes made up 32.2% of state and local government tax revenue in 2020.
To understand how these and other taxes impact Americans, USAFacts examined tax burdens across the country, looking at the proportion of a person’s income that is paid in taxes. Tax burdens can be measured in two ways: as a percentage of personal income, which is calculated by dividing the per capita tax revenue by the per capita annual income for each state, and as the per-person tax revenue.
(There are also selective sales taxes, which target specific items like alcohol, tobacco, and gasoline. Learn more about how much Americans spend on alcohol and tobacco taxes here.)
