According to a new ranking, the state of Illinois is in the top-10 most burdensome states in terms of taxes in the United States, but perhaps not for the reasons you would think.
The ranking, compiled by the consumer website WalletHub, Illinois has the 10th-highest tax burden in the country, with a total tax burden of 9.7%.
"Tax burden" is defined by WalletHub as the percentage of income that goes towards three specific taxes: property taxes, income taxes and sales/excise taxes, according to the company.
Illinois made its way into the top-10 mostly because of its property taxes, with the 3.98% share of income going toward that particular tax ranking it eighth in the nation in that category. It was around average in terms of sales and excise taxes, and was in the bottom-half of states in terms of its income tax burden.
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The state of Indiana came in 28th place in the ranking, with 8.42% of taxpayer’s income going to taxes. The state was among the lowest in both income tax and property taxes, but it ranked 15th in the nation in terms of sales and excise taxes.
The state of New York ranked highest on the list, with a total tax burden of 12.75%. The state of Hawaii was close behind at 12.7%, while Maine (11.42%), Vermont (11.13%) and Minnesota (10.2%) rounded out the top-five.
Illinois finished just behind California, which has a burden of 9.72%.
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Alaska, Tennessee, Delaware, Wyoming and New Hampshire occupy the bottom five spots on the list.
