Wyoming ranked 5th for lowest tax rates in country

With Tax Day looming and 74% of people disapproving of how the government has used tax dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic, WalletHub today also released its 2021 Taxpayer Survey in order to help people better understand what can be a confusing time of year.

Tax Rates in Wyoming (1=Lowest; 25=Avg.):

• 5^th – Overall Effective State & Local Tax Rate
• 1^st – Income Tax
• 10^th – Real-Estate Tax
• 41^st – Vehicle Property Tax
• 39^th – Sales & Excise Taxes

2021 Taxpayer Survey

• 74% of people say the government has not handled their tax dollars wisely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 30% of people say making a math mistake is their biggest Tax Day fear, edging out not having enough money (29%) and identity theft (21%) at the top of the list.
• 38% of people would move to a different country for a tax-free future. 27% would get an “IRS” tattoo and 19% would stop talking for 6 months.
• 32% of people think charities would make the best use of their tax dollars, outnumbering by nearly 2.5 times people who trust the federal government the most with their taxes.
• 222 million Americans think the government does not spend taxes wisely.

Methodology

In order to identify the states with the highest and lowest tax rates, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across four types of taxation:

1. Real-Estate Tax: WalletHub first divided the “Median Real-Estate Tax Amount Paid” by the “Median Home Price” in each state. They then applied the resulting rates to a house worth $217,500, the median value for a home in the U.S., in order to obtain the dollar amount paid as real-estate tax per household.
2. Vehicle Property Tax: WalletHub examined data for cities and counties collectively accounting for at least 50 percent of the state’s population and extrapolated this to the state level using weighted averages based on population size. For each state, they assumed all residents own the same car: a Toyota Camry LE four-door sedan, 2020’s highest-selling car, valued at $24,970, as of March 2021.
3. Income Tax: WalletHub used the percentage of income (middle income rate) spent on income tax from WalletHub’s Best States to Be Rich or Poor from a Tax Perspective report. “Income” refers to the mean third quintile U.S. income amount of $63,218.
4. Sales & Excise Tax: WalletHub used the percentage of income (middle income rate) spent on sales and excise taxes from WalletHub’s Best States to Be Rich or Poor from a Tax Perspective report. “Income” refers to the mean third quintile U.S. income amount of $63,218.