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Compared with other states, Michigan's tax burden is low - and getting lower

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Don’t believe us? Check out the Michigan Tax Time Machine.

Turn the clock back to 1977. Michigan manufacturing jobs were plentiful. Wages were high. So were taxes. Back then, Michigan had the 13th highest per capita tax burden in the nation. State and local taxes in 1977 were $261 (or 9 percent) higher than the national average.

By 2014, Michigan’s per capita tax burden was $900 (or 19 percent) below the national average. State and local taxes as a percentage of personal income were 16 percent below the national average.

It may not seem like it (for reasons we’ll show later), but Michigan’s total tax burden is now among the lowest in the nation. Thirty-four states have higher tax per capita and higher taxes as a percentage of personal income.  

Want more details? See our “Michigan Tax Burden Trends” chart below, and our methodology.

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