I did a little research at LA Dept of Revenue at www.rev.state.la.us
A person making $50,000 per year with 1 exemption (himself) and 0 dependents would pay $1,890 per year in state income tax.
Accordingly, two people making $50,000 per year each would pay a total state income tax of about $3,780. Let's make it $4,000 to be fair.
NOW...
I am going to *try* to compare apples to apples.
Let's take two couples. Each couple earns $100,000 per year and each couple lives in a $150,000 home. One couple lives in Ruston, LA and one couple lives in a suburb of Houston, TX.
Ruston, LA couple:
- State Income Tax = $4,000
- Property Taxes (less homestead exemption) @ 1% (this is estimated) = ($150,000 - $75,000) X 0.01 = $750
Total Ruston, LA state income and property taxes = $4,750 (not deductable from federal)
Houston, TX couple:
- State Income Tax = 0
- Property Tax @ ~3.5% = $150,000 X 0.035 = $5,250
Total Houston, TX state income and property taxes = $5,250 ( deductable from federal)
That's pretty close.
So, Houston has lower housing costs, better roads, better schools, better economy, etc. for about the same amount of taxes. What was the reason for new college grads or young families to stay in Louisiana???
Instead of the LA state government working on economic development to increase the tax base, they are trying to "kill the golden goose" by taxing the working class even more.
And, although I despise property taxes as well as income taxes, property tax usually stays local while income tax disappears to Baton Rouge, never to be seen again...