A new WalletHub study found the typical household in Illinois pays 15% of its income to state and local taxes, the highest in the nation. That’s an average of $10,463 – a 22% hike since 2017.
The typical Illinois family loses $10,463 – over 15% of its income – to state and local taxes, the highest in the nation, according to a WalletHub study.
The study looked the tax rates for someone with the U.S. median household income, who owns a median valued home and other variables to rank states. In Illinois, that comes out to $10,463, the highest in the nation and nearly $3,000 higher than the median state of Massachusetts.
It is also $2,300 more than the Illinois rate in 2017, or an increase of 22%. Illinois had the highest rate then and has kept its No. 1 tax ranking each year.
The study found Illinois state and local governments levy the nation’s second-highest gas taxes. WalletHub’s property tax rankings also show Illinois is No. 2 in the nation. Renters feel this burden by taking on 80-90% of property tax hikes.
Despite being asked to pay more than anyone else, the state has the nation’s worst pension debt. Illinois has 3.8% of the country’s population, but it carries 15.5% of the nation’s pension debt. Taxpayers must eventually come up with $140 billion to pay the state’s unfunded pension promises and another $70 billion for local pensions, or a total liability of $42,600 for each Illinois household.
Read more here.
