I've got a lot to be thankful for (despite my crabbing!). But nothing more than having a wonderful wife!
I mean, look at what she does for me:
She cooks
She cleans
She carries our baby
She works
She makes calls
She allows me time for my chavrusa
She lets me sit at the shabbos table with slippers!
She tolerates my tech geekiness
She listens politely as I rant and rave about taxes
There are many, many others. But there's one thing that she does do that trumps them all: she allows me ample time on the can so I can write these blogs!!
THANKS DEAR!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Taxes and Texas
First things first - everyone must read my response to Anonymous's comment on this post before reading this current post and before posting comments such as "why don't you just move?" Read what I wrote in my counter-comment. Now for the post itself.
Many here know of my excoriations, despite my new place of residency, of the financial and tax burdens of residing in the NYC metro/tri-state area. I stumbled upon this website that I think just solidifies my thinking in my mind.
First. I encourage everyone to click on the 'About Us' link and read what this place is all about. Obviously, this place is Republican (or conservative) funded that advocates a decidedly conservative agenda, and some of us may hate Republicans. But that doesn't mean that the Tax Foundation's mission or list of things they stand for don't make sense. I don't agree fully with everything they stand for (their 'Neutrality' section for one), but I definitely find my thinking generally aligned with theirs.
The Tax Foundation has an interesting concept called tax freedom day, which is an interesting concept that I encourage everyone to read about here. I'll wait a moment until everyone's done.
Finished? Ok, good. Now click on this link to see the Tax Freedom Day for 2009 depending on which state you live in. Note that the higher the rank #, the better, a higher number ranking (47 vs 3, for example) means you have to work less days in order to pay off your federal, state, and local tax bill. Look at New York, New Jersey, and Texas. Notice the difference?
Now look at this link, which shows a Tax Freedom Day trend over time (you have to download an Excel file). Can't be bothered? Well see below for a 10-year trend comparing US average, NY, NJ, and, of course, TX. If you do the math, the differences between the states average out to something like over TWO WEEKS worth of wages. Heck, Texas even beats the US average each year! This may not show properly so I encourage all to download and look at the Excel table to see for yourself. But take my word for it:
Now, check out this link, which ranks states by tax climate for business (basically a measure of how favorable the tax climate is for growing businesses). Again, look at NY, NJ, and, naturally, TX.
Check out this, this, and this for a one stop shop for all that ails NY and NJ.
Do you see anything interesting? I do, if these figures are accurate and correct. Am I going somewhere with this? You betcha. NY and NJ residents have consistently shouldered a possibly (we DO make a bit more $$$ in NY/NJ, after all) disproportionately higher tax burden than do Texans. And what have we got for forking over our hard-earned money to Unca Empire and Garden state? A business drain to states like... Texas. So we in NY and NJ hand over lots of cash to local and state gub'ment and get in return... a loss of one of the greatest drivers of economic growth. Consistently.
Yay!
Many here know of my excoriations, despite my new place of residency, of the financial and tax burdens of residing in the NYC metro/tri-state area. I stumbled upon this website that I think just solidifies my thinking in my mind.
First. I encourage everyone to click on the 'About Us' link and read what this place is all about. Obviously, this place is Republican (or conservative) funded that advocates a decidedly conservative agenda, and some of us may hate Republicans. But that doesn't mean that the Tax Foundation's mission or list of things they stand for don't make sense. I don't agree fully with everything they stand for (their 'Neutrality' section for one), but I definitely find my thinking generally aligned with theirs.
The Tax Foundation has an interesting concept called tax freedom day, which is an interesting concept that I encourage everyone to read about here. I'll wait a moment until everyone's done.
Finished? Ok, good. Now click on this link to see the Tax Freedom Day for 2009 depending on which state you live in. Note that the higher the rank #, the better, a higher number ranking (47 vs 3, for example) means you have to work less days in order to pay off your federal, state, and local tax bill. Look at New York, New Jersey, and Texas. Notice the difference?
Now look at this link, which shows a Tax Freedom Day trend over time (you have to download an Excel file). Can't be bothered? Well see below for a 10-year trend comparing US average, NY, NJ, and, of course, TX. If you do the math, the differences between the states average out to something like over TWO WEEKS worth of wages. Heck, Texas even beats the US average each year! This may not show properly so I encourage all to download and look at the Excel table to see for yourself. But take my word for it:
| State | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| United States | April 30 | May 1 | May 3 | April 30 | April 19 | April 16 | April 17 | April 24 | April 26 | April 27 | April 21 | April 13 |
| New Jersey | May 14 | May 16 | May 17 | May 15 | May 4 | April 30 | April 30 | May 8 | May 10 | May 11 | May 8 | April 29 |
| New York | May 8 | May 9 | May 11 | May 11 | May 1 | April 27 | April 28 | May 4 | May 7 | May 8 | May 4 | April 25 |
| Texas | April 25 | April 24 | April 26 | April 23 | April 14 | April 10 | April 8 | April 14 | April 18 | April 20 | April 15 | April 6 |
Now, check out this link, which ranks states by tax climate for business (basically a measure of how favorable the tax climate is for growing businesses). Again, look at NY, NJ, and, naturally, TX.
Check out this, this, and this for a one stop shop for all that ails NY and NJ.
Do you see anything interesting? I do, if these figures are accurate and correct. Am I going somewhere with this? You betcha. NY and NJ residents have consistently shouldered a possibly (we DO make a bit more $$$ in NY/NJ, after all) disproportionately higher tax burden than do Texans. And what have we got for forking over our hard-earned money to Unca Empire and Garden state? A business drain to states like... Texas. So we in NY and NJ hand over lots of cash to local and state gub'ment and get in return... a loss of one of the greatest drivers of economic growth. Consistently.
Yay!
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