Delaware ranks 49th among the 50 states it comes to the individual tax burden.
Only Alaska has a lower tax burden, according to a report from WalletHub, a financial information website.
Both Alaska and Delaware share the ability to use personal nontax revenues to pay for state operations. Alaska relies on oil revenues, while Delaware uses incorporation fees and corporate fees and taxes to help pay the bills.
(Click on the map to see the state rankings. States with a darker color have high tax rates).
WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the three components of state tax burden — property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes — as a share of total personal income.
And while the state does not levy a sales tax, it does have a gross receipts tax for sales by larger businesses.
The personal tax rankings
• 49th – Overall Tax Burden (5.68%)
• 47th – Property Tax Burden (1.82%)
• 13th – Individual Income Tax Burden (2.70%)
• 49th – Total Sales & Excise Tax Burden (1.16%)
The low taxes have led to an influx of older residents to the central and southern part of the state who are escaping high tax states like New Jersey (ninth highest) and Pennsylvania (23rd highest) in the WalletHub report.
The low tax burden is not expected to lessen the debate over spending, with critics claiming that that taxpayers do not get a good deal, with legislators not addressing pressing issues like soaring employee health care costs.
Also questioned are heavy school expenditures by the state that are not always leading to improved student performance. Defenders point to school districts that are increasingly comprised of poorer students.
