SPRINGFIELD – Illinois has the highest tax rates in the country, according to a new analysis.
The personal finance website WalletHub has released its yearly report on the “States with the Highest and Lowest Tax Rates.”
State Representative David Friess (R-Red Bud) spoke on the analysis on the House floor Thursday afternoon, saying, overall, Illinois placed last in the country for taxation, coming in at 51st for overall effective state and local tax rate, 50th for real estate taxes, and 47th for income taxes. Illinois also pays the second highest gas taxes in the country.
Illinoisans pay the second highest property taxes in the country behind only New Jersey. Illinois’ real estate tax rate is nearly eight percent. That is compared with Hawaii at just over one percent.
The study found that the percentage difference between Illinois taxes and the U.S. average is an astounding 51.8 percent. The next closest is New York at 34.9 percent. At the other end of the spectrum is Alaska at -37.9 percent.
According to the study, behind Illinois, the highest taxed states are New York and Connecticut. The least taxed states are Alaska, Delaware and Wyoming.