NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

May 20, 1999

N.D. State Tax Collections Up in 1998 but Remain Low

North Dakota collected $1.078 billion in state government taxes in 1998, an increase of 1.4 percent from the $1.064 billion collected in 1997, according to the latest Economic Brief from the State Data Center at North Dakota State University. On average, total state tax revenue has increased 5.7 percent per year since 1988.

"Per capita tax revenue was $1,690 in 1998, ranking North Dakota 23rd in the nation. North Dakota also ranked 34th in property taxes and 41st in individual income taxes," says Richard Rathge, data center director.

Although the increase in North Dakota's overall per capita taxes during the past 10 years was greater than the national average, property tax increases in North Dakota were below national averages. Rathge says, "The tax burden in North Dakota relative to other states is very low."

An analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation (www.taxfoundation.org) shows that North Dakota ranked third lowest in overall taxes in 1998 as a percentage of income (average rate, 32.7 percent). Excluding federal taxes, North Dakota's ranking drops to 10th lowest (average state/local rate, 10.7 percent).

"In contrast, Minnesota ranked third highest overall, with an average total rate of 37.2 percent, and fifth overall when one excludes federal taxes. Minnesota's current average state and local rate is 13.1 percent," Rathge concludes.

Eight states accounted for nearly half of all state tax revenue in 1997: California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. More than half of North Dakota's state tax revenue came from taxes on sales and gross receipts, and 15.3 percent came from individual income taxes.

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Source: Richard Rathge (701) 231-8621

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136

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