Wyoming is America's Wealth-Friendliest State
NEW YORK, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Call it America's own tax haven. With budget shortfalls forcing most states to cut services or raise taxes, Wyoming reigns as America's most "wealth-friendly" state, according to an annual survey in Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine.
Bloomberg Wealth Manager is Bloomberg's monthly magazine targeting the needs of financial planners and investment advisers who counsel the affluent.
For the sixth year in a row, the Cowboy State leads the nation when it comes to letting families keep more of what they earn and own. But Rhode Island earns the dubious distinction as America's most "wealth-hostile" state for the third straight year, according to the magazine's exclusive survey (Editor's Note: Complete state-by-state rankings follow this press release).
Bloomberg Wealth Manager also warns that rich Americans will bear the brunt as states raise taxes to compensate for vanishing revenues and severe budget problems.
"States are struggling to control the most serious financial hemorrhaging since the Great Depression. And that can only mean bad news for wealthy clients, particularly those who live in wealth-unfriendly states," reports Tom Saler, who wrote the story for Bloomberg Wealth Manager. "Wealth-friendly locales are becoming harder to find."
Other states earning high marks for "wealth-friendliness" are Alabama (#2), Nevada (#3), Tennessee (#4), and Louisiana. The most "wealth-hostile", after Rhode Island, include Vermont (ranked #48 in wealth-friendliness), Wisconsin (#47), New York (#46), and Maine (#45).
For the annual "wealth-friendliness" survey, Bloomberg Wealth Manager compared the impact of state taxes on salary, real estate, personal property, and retirement assets for four hypothetical families. The editors ran exhaustive research on tax codes and effects in each state.
The results vividly demonstrate how tax bite can vary from state to state - and how each state's burden can change depending on the nature of one's assets. For example, the identical set of financial parameters that generated a tax bill of $10,504 last year in tax-friendly Wyoming could have cost a family $68,583 in tax-hell Rhode Island.
In measuring the tax bite of each state, the magazine once again found significant inequities just across state lines. Wyoming's neighbor to the north, Montana, was #6 among the most "wealth-hostile" states, with a "D" grade overall for wealth-friendliness.
Overall "Wealth Friendly" Ranking and Grade of All 50 States and District
of Columbia
Alabama 2* A+
Alaska 7 A
Arizona 9 A-
Arkansas 18 B
California 36* D
Colorado 6 A
Connecticut 34 C-
Delaware 8 A-
District of Columbia 33 C-
Florida 10 A-
Georgia 17 B
Hawaii 14 B+
Idaho 35 C-
Illinois 31 C
Indiana 19 B
Iowa 32 C-
Kansas 38 D+
Kentucky 24 C+
Louisiana 4 A
Maine 45 D-
Maryland 15 B+
Massachusetts 22 B-
Michigan 25 C+
Minnesota 40 D
Mississippi 13 B+
Missouri 30 C
Montana 44 D-
Nebraska 43 D-
A- Nevada 2* A+
New Hampshire 11 A-
New Jersey 39 D
New Mexico 29 C
New York 46 D-
North Carolina 36* D+
North Dakota 37 D+
Ohio 41 D
Oklahoma 28 C
Oregon 42 D
Pennsylvania 23 B-
Rhode Island 49 F
South Carolina 20 B-
South Dakota 12 B+
Tennessee 3 A+
Texas 26 C+
Utah 16 B
Vermont 48 F
Virginia 21 B-
Washington 5 A
West Virginia 27 C+
Wisconsin 47 F
Wyoming 1 A+
*indicates tie
About Bloomberg Wealth Manager
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