How do some states (TN, FL, etc) get by with having no income tax? Why can’t every state get rid of it?
In: Economics
There are lots of different ways to tax people: real estate taxes, sales tax, vice/excise taxes, gas taxes, etc of the states that you mentioned most of them just shift the way that they tax their residents. There are exceptions: Alaska notably.
To attend to the comments, there are definitely differences in what you receive for your tax dollars, but higher taxes DO NOT inherently mean that the government is being efficient with your money. California is a notable example of a state with a huge amount of tax revenue (often called the “sunshine tax”) that is highly inefficient in their spending. California has $**220.59 billion in tax revenue, spends** [**$109B of that on education**](https://educationdata.org/public-education-spending-statistics#california) **yet they** [**rank #37 in k-12 education**](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education/prek-12) *(ironically they have the best university system in the world)*. They have spent billions combating homelessness, yet have the largest homeless population in the country.
So could other states get rid of income taxes? absolutely. But they would likely shift their tax collection to different means with not tangible difference to residents.
Paying attention to taxes (tax revenue and spending), voting for elected officials who are fiscally conservative (not necessarily socially conservative), and voting with your feet (moving to states that are more efficient with tax dollars) are important duties for American Citizens.
You can check out smart asset to see differences: https://smartasset.com/taxes/federal-tax-calculator. As well you cal read up on total tax burden to understand the nuances: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/tax-burden-by-state-2022/
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