Rhode Island Earns Dubious Distinction as 'Most Wealth-Hostile'

As Struggling States Raise Taxes



http://wealth.bloomberg.com

    NEW YORK, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Call it America's own tax haven.  With
 budget shortfalls forcing most states to cut services or raise taxes, Wyoming
 reigns as America's most "wealth-friendly" state, according to an annual
 survey in Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine.
     Bloomberg Wealth Manager is Bloomberg's monthly magazine targeting the
 needs of financial planners and investment advisers who counsel the affluent.
     For the sixth year in a row, the Cowboy State leads the nation when it
 comes to letting families keep more of what they earn and own.  But Rhode
 Island earns the dubious distinction as America's most "wealth-hostile" state
 for the third straight year, according to the magazine's exclusive survey
 (Editor's Note:  Complete state-by-state rankings follow this press release).
     Bloomberg Wealth Manager also warns that rich Americans will bear the
 brunt as states raise taxes to compensate for vanishing revenues and severe
 budget problems.
     "States are struggling to control the most serious financial hemorrhaging
 since the Great Depression.  And that can only mean bad news for wealthy
 clients, particularly those who live in wealth-unfriendly states," reports Tom
 Saler, who wrote the story for Bloomberg Wealth Manager.  "Wealth-friendly
 locales are becoming harder to find."
     Other states earning high marks for "wealth-friendliness" are Alabama
 (#2), Nevada (#3), Tennessee (#4), and Louisiana.   The most "wealth-hostile",
 after Rhode Island, include Vermont (ranked #48 in wealth-friendliness),
 Wisconsin (#47), New York (#46), and Maine (#45).
     For the annual "wealth-friendliness" survey, Bloomberg Wealth Manager
 compared the impact of state taxes on salary, real estate, personal property,
 and retirement assets for four hypothetical families.  The editors ran
 exhaustive research on tax codes and effects in each state.
     The results vividly demonstrate how tax bite can vary from state to
 state - and how each state's burden can change depending on the nature of
 one's assets. For example, the identical set of financial parameters that
 generated a tax bill of $10,504 last year in tax-friendly Wyoming could have
 cost a family $68,583 in tax-hell Rhode Island.
     In measuring the tax bite of each state, the magazine once again found
 significant inequities just across state lines. Wyoming's neighbor to the
 north, Montana, was #6 among the most "wealth-hostile" states, with a "D"
 grade overall for wealth-friendliness.
 
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     Overall "Wealth Friendly" Ranking and Grade of All 50 States and District
     of Columbia
 
     Alabama                 2*         A+        Montana          44  D-
     Alaska                  7          A         Nebraska         43  D-
     Arizona                 9          A-        Nevada            2* A+
     Arkansas               18          B         New Hampshire    11  A-
     California             36*         D+        New Jersey       39  D
     Colorado                6          A         New Mexico       29  C
     Connecticut            34          C-        New York         46  D-
     Delaware                8          A-        North Carolina   36* D+
     District of Columbia   33          C-        North Dakota     37  D+
     Florida                10          A-        Ohio             41  D
     Georgia                17          B         Oklahoma         28  C
     Hawaii                 14          B+        Oregon           42  D
     Idaho                  35          C-        Pennsylvania     23  B-
     Illinois               31          C         Rhode Island     49  F
     Indiana                19          B         South Carolina   20  B-
     Iowa                   32          C-        South Dakota     12  B+
     Kansas                 38          D+        Tennessee         3  A+
     Kentucky               24          C+        Texas            26  C+
     Louisiana               4          A         Utah             16  B
     Maine                  45          D-        Vermont          48  F
     Maryland               15          B+        Virginia         21  B-
     Massachusetts          22          B-        Washington        5  A
     Michigan               25          C+        West Virginia    27  C+
     Minnesota              40          D         Wisconsin        47  F
     Mississippi            13          B+        Wyoming           1  A+
     Missouri               30          C
 
     *indicates tie
 
 

SOURCE  Bloomberg Wealth Manager