Today we improved our US state tax revenues section by adding a new variable: tax revenue per capita. Check out the map below for an example showing tax revenue per capita for tobacco products:
New Hampshire collects the most taxes on a per capita basis than any other state. Now we will have to look for data showing if high taxes on tobacco products result in lower numbers of smokers.
According to Stateline.org, sales tax collections have been on the rise in the last six months for some states, Oklahoma and West Virginia among others. They are expected to grow even more during the months of November and December 2010. As can be seen in the graph below, sales tax collections have been on the rise except for the period between the fourth quarter 2008 and the first quarter 2010.
The second quarter 2010 shows an increase in sales tax collection of 9.4% with respect to the previous quarter.
Sales tax revenue is the second largest source of tax collections after individual income tax revenue for the state of Oklahoma as can be seen in the chart below.
We are happy to release the beta version of a new section: tax revenues by state and tax type since 1994. Take a look and let us know if you find any issues.