New York State ranks among the top five in highest local sales taxes, but among the lowest five in state-wide sales tax rates, a new report shows.
The Tax Foundation recently released a report ranking New York State among the top ten worst states for combined local sales tax and state-wide sales tax rates. The two taxes combined give New York an 8.5% rate, ranking them 10th worst in the country, the report states.
New York's 4% state-wide sales tax rate ranks them in the top five best among all states with a tax, along with Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, and Wyoming. California has the highest state-level sales tax rate at 7.25%.
Conversely, the Empire State is in the bottom five among average local sales tax rates. The 4.52% average local sales tax rate is good for fourth highest behind Alabama, Louisiana, and Colorado.
Eleven states and the District of Columbia do not collect additional sales taxes on the local level, including Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Rhode Island.
"Sales taxes are just one part of an overall tax structure and should be considered in context," the report notes. "While many factors influence business location and investment decisions, sales taxes are something within policymakers’ control that can have immediate impacts."