Study: Conn., NY most taxing

Connecticut residents paid the highest state and local taxes in the nation in 2010, according to a new study, at nearly $7,000 compared to about $6,700 for New Jersey residents and close to $6,400 for New Yorkers.

No other state cracked the $6,000 mark in combined state and local taxes, according to the Tax Foundation which is based in Washington, D.C.

Calculated as a percentage of net income, New York residents paid the highest state and local taxes at 12.8 percent, followed by New Jersey at 12.4 percent and Connecticut at 12.3 percent. The three states have occupied the top three spots on the study since 2005.

The Tax Foundation calculates tax burdens by totaling the amounts paid by residents to both their state and local governments, then dividing those totals by each state”™s total income.

The study focuses on the impact of taxes on individuals, rather than government collections; that means for Connecticut residents who work in New York and pay income tax there, the Tax Foundation counts them as part of the tax burden carried by Connecticut”™s residents.