Facts & Figures 2024: How Does Your State Compare?
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min readHow does Pennsylvania’s tax code compare? Pennsylvania has a flat 3.07 percent individual income tax rate. There are also jurisdictions that collect local income taxes. Pennsylvania has an 8.49 percent corporate income tax rate. Pennsylvania has a 6.00 percent state sales tax rate and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 6.34 percent. Pennsylvania also has a 1.26 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value.
Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax. Pennsylvania has a 58.7 cents per gallon gas tax rate and a $2.60 cigarette excise tax rate. The State of Pennsylvania collects $6,264 in state and local tax collections per capita. Pennsylvania has $9,894 in state and local debt per capita and has a 68 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Overall, Pennsylvania’s tax system ranks 31st on our 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and Pennsylvania is no exception. The first step towards understanding Pennsylvania’s tax code is knowing the basics. How does Pennsylvania collect tax revenue? Click the tabs below to learn more! You can also explore our state tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2024: How Does Your State Compare?
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SubscribeFacts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min readIn recognition of the fact that there are better and worse ways to raise revenue, our Index focuses on how state tax revenue is raised, not how much. The rankings, therefore, reflect how well states structure their tax systems.
111 min readTax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
24 min readIndividual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
8 min readGraduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
7 min readRetail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
9 min readReforming economic nexus thresholds would not only be better for businesses but for states as well. It is more cost-effective for states to focus on—and simplify—compliance for a reasonable number of sellers than to impose rules that have low compliance and are costly to administer.
4 min readDo taxes affect individuals’ decisions regarding where to live and work? Can high taxes cause the outmigration of wealthy individuals?
5 min readDoes your state have a small business exemption for machinery and equipment?
3 min readIndividual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
8 min readIn 2021 and 2022 alone, more states enacted laws converting graduated-rate individual income tax structures into single-rate income tax structures than did so in the whole 108-year history of state income taxation up until that point.
10 min readWorking from home is great. The tax complications? Not so much.
4 min readRetail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
9 min readGraduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
7 min readThe pandemic has accelerated changes to the way we live and work, making it far easier for people to move—and they have. As states work to maintain their competitive advantage, they should pay attention to where people are moving, and try to understand why.
5 min readThirty-four states will ring in the new year with notable tax changes, including 15 states cutting individual or corporate income taxes (and some cutting both).
17 min read