Alabama's per capita tax burden still among lowest in the nation

Newly-released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that Alabamians paid approximately $7.018 billion in taxes to support state government during 2004. That comes out to $1550.99 for every man, woman, and child in the state - giving us the fifth lowest per capita tax burden in the nation. Only residents of New Hampshire, Colorado, South Dakota, and Texas paid a lower amount per person.

Here's how that $1550.99 breaks down:

Taxes on sales and gross receipts: $812.28
Individual income taxes: $495.81
Licenses: $87.83
Corporate income taxes: $64.54
Property taxes: $48.94
Other (death, gift, documentary/stock transfer, severance): $41.59

States with the highest per capita tax burden were (in order): Hawaii, Wyoming, Connecticut, Minnesota, Delaware, Vermont, Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, and New York.

That's all pretty much what you'd expect, with the possible exception of Wyoming. I always thought of Wyoming as a low-tax state. It has no state income tax on individuals or corporations, and its property taxes are relatively low. So, how is it possible that it has the second-highest level of taxation in the Union? A closer look at the data provides the answer. Wyoming's per capita tax revenues are $2,973.87, but a whopping $1,350.21 of that comes from severance taxes. Those are taxes levied on the production of natural resources such as oil, natural gas, and coal - all of which Wyoming has in abundance - and all of which have undergone substantial price increases in the past few years. The state has profited handily, as the chart in the center of the page here shows. Just in case you were wondering.