It has become assumed at this point that if there’s a report on high taxes, New Jersey will be at the top of the list. So it comes as no surprise that when 24/7 Wall Street released a new study on who pays the most in taxes in the 50 states, we once again came in first (or last, if you prefer).

So, who pays the most in taxes over a lifetime? Guess:

New Jersey is by far the highest. Residents in the Garden State will pay $1,035,725 in taxes, on average, in a lifetime. New Jersey residents will pay 61.84% of their earnings to taxes over their lifetimes, one of six states where residents pay more than 50% of their earnings in total taxes. New Jersey residents also pay the highest effective rate on owner-occupied property at 2.13%, according to the Tax Foundation.

While we’re first in lifetime taxes, we’re only third in lifetime earnings.

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Another study says that we’re not as bad when it comes to just state taxes (no federal of local taxes were considered:

Using 2021 data from the Tax Foundation, an independent, nonprofit, tax policy research organization, 24/7 Wall St. identified the states where people pay the largest share of their income on taxes. States are ranked by per capita tax collections as a share of income per capita.

In that metric, we rank in the middle of the pack at 26th. As reported in the other study, we pay 61% of our income in taxes, but this study says the state portion of per capita taxes is only 10th highest ($4,714) and again, our per capita income is third highest.

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Why the different rankings? One data set includes all taxes and one doesn’t; the second one doesn’t consider property taxes, where we are a solid #1. The only silver lining is that our home values are the highest which accounts for some of the high taxes.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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Up or down? Average property tax changes in NJ in 2022

Below are the average property tax bills for every municipality in New Jersey last year.

The towns are listed from the biggest cut in the average bill to the highest increase. On the county maps, the deeper red color means a higher increase above 2% whereas the darker green signifies a smaller increase or a reduction.

Each listing also shows how the average tax bill is split among the county, school and municipal governments.

Weird things NJ taxes - and some they don't

In general, New Jersey assesses a 6.625% Sales Tax on sales of most tangible personal property, specified digital products, and certain services unless specifically exempt under New Jersey law.
However, the way the sales tax is applied in New Jersey sometimes just doesn't make sense.
New Jersey puts out an itemized list for retailers that spells out what is, and what is not, taxed. 
Perhaps because this is New Jersey, there are some bizarre and seemingly contradictory listings. 

LOOK: The 25 least expensive states to live in

Here are the top 25 states with the lowest cost of living in 2022, using data Stacker culled from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

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