Remember this article (and this one) about the numbers of non-paying tax filers?
Today, the Tax Foundation released a series of groupings of IRS data showing the breakdown of non-paying tax filers. You can see the results by the numbers here.
Mississippi tops the list at 45%, while Alaska sits at the bottom with a mere 21%.
Overwhelmingly, the majority of non-paying tax filers are located in the South. Nine out of the top ten were located in the South or southwest (hailing from the South myself, I am quick to draw the distinction). Idaho is the lone exception. The top ten are:
- Mississippi
- Georgia
- Arkansas
- New Mexico
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- Louisiana
- Texas
- Florida
- Idaho
Not surprisingly, many of those states were also at the top of the poverty charts:
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- Arkansas
- New Mexico
- Alabama
- Texas
- South Carolina
- Oklahoma
Florida and Idaho were two quirky additions to the non-paying tax filers top ten. Idaho ranks in the bottom half of the poorest states (meaning that they’re actually in the top half of the richest states) while Florida is nearly smack in the middle. On average, the poverty rate in the US is 13.2% – Idaho comes in at 12.5%.
Conversely, the wealthiest states tended to pay the most. A quick peek at those states with the lowest percentage of non-paying tax filers (outside of Alaska, as already mentioned) reveals those states we consider “rich”: Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire for example.
Not rocket science. But still interesting.
I’d be interested in learning the breakdown of people who make a profit from filing taxes. That is, what is the data for the the people who have total credit greater than total owed that they don’t just have no liability, but get money from the government. I don’t know enough to make a complete argument, but I’m thinking I’d rather see a simplified tax and more welfare. It would be of the same effect, but simplified and obvious as to how much people are subsidized. I don’t mind paying taxes as a citizen. What I do mind is when my thoughts sometimes wander to thinking I am a superior citizen because I pay taxes. My poorer relatives are always amazed that I don’t get huge refunds (in fact, I’ve owed small amounts for the past 6 years). I should be feeling fortunate to be making enough to pay taxes, but sometimes I feel like I should have more say in our government because I pay more – in fact, many close to me don’t pay anything or even make a tax profit. I know that is wrong because there are people many, many times richer than I am who probably feel jealous that I don’t pay the same share they do. I don’t know if I’m the only one who thinks like this sometimes. I hate that I sometimes feel this way. I try to be a humble person and I know I should be so fortunate for everything I have and show those with less many only compassion. Being honest hurts, but I think it helps. I mean, if I feel like this, then what do the very rich feel about this? Does this contribute to an abuse of power? Maybe taxes should be painfully fair, while welfare can help with that pain and the pain of having low or no income in a more honest, open matter.
I’d love to read the opinions of others!
Did two of the great lakes turn into new states?