New York taxes highest in nation, comes in 2nd in spending: report

A new report has found that New York State has the highest tax burden per resident in the US, and that it was the second-highest spender in the US. This comes as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed taxes in recent months that would target the Big Apple's wealthiest.

The Citizens Budget Commission, a non-partisan watchdog group, released a report on its findings on Wednesday. The report looked at the latest data available, which is from fiscal year 2024. The report compared taxes collected in each state by local and state governments.

New York ranked the highest, with the state and localities taxing New York residents 22 percent more per capita than California, which ranked second highest on taxes collected. The taxes collected in the state were 71 percent higher per person than the national average.

The watchdog group also found that New York “collected the most personal income tax per $1,000 of income among all states” and “collected the most corporate taxes per $1,000 of state gross domestic product (GDP) in the nation.”

Regarding spending, the group found that New York spent the most per capita in the contiguous United States, only being outspent by Alaska. The state’s spending was 44 percent more than the national average.

The report stated, “Combined with New York’s high cost of living and uneven public services, these fiscal burdens weaken New York’s value proposition and its ability to attract and retain residents and businesses.” It recommended that “New York State and its localities should hold the line on—and preferably reduce—taxes, while improving service quality, affordability, and government efficiency.”

The watchdog group also found that the Empire State was ranked third highest for property taxes, sixth highest for sales taxes, and 13th highest for all other taxes.

Fueling the state’s spending are programs like Medicaid, as well as public school education. The state spends the most per public school student, around $34,000, and the most on Medicaid than any other state in the country.

“Increasing its already-nation-leading taxes will not make New York more competitive. It may well do the opposite, making it less attractive to some by further driving up New York’s high cost of living and doing business,” the report stated.