Tax Foundation ranks NY, NJ and California as worst business tax states

That’s the conclusion of the Tax Foundation, a Washington research group that annually ranks states on the state of their taxes.

New York and New Jersey rank 49th and 50th, and the District of Columbia tied with California for 48th. Wyoming has the best climate.

Gov. Gavin Newsom likes to boast California is a better place to live and work than Texas and Florida.

The business tax climate rankings put Florida fourth and Texas 13th. Their standings are aided by the absence of an individual income tax.

States in the bottom 10 have several things in common, notably what the report called complex taxes with relatively high rates.

California’s top income tax rate of 13.3% is the nation’s highest. And motorists pay some of the nation’s highest taxes on gasoline and motor fuel.

The state’s corporate rate is 8.84%, trailing New Jersey, at 11.5%, as well as Pennsylvania, Iowa, Minnesota, Alaska and Maine.

Also pushing California towards the bottom is its sales tax. The 7.25% state sales tax, plus local add-ons, are the nation’s highest. Next are Indiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Tennessee, all at 7%.