Wyoming Celebrates Not Having A State Income Tax

In the beginning, America did not have an Income Tax.

The first income tax was imposed by the first Republican president Abraham Lincoln. The purpose was to pay for the Civil War, and the tax was repealed at the end of the war.

Congress later tried flat rate federal income tax for the entire country, but the Supreme Court rejected the measure in 1894.

Income taxes are NOT constitutional.

So Congress had to pass the 16th Amendment, allowing the government to tax citizens' annual personal income, they began requiring Americans to fulfil this duty after it was ratified in 1913.

The government was much smaller and far less involved in our lives and businesses. Therefore the government demanded far less of our money.

In 1913, the 16th Amendment authorized an income tax. It was only to be levied on the top 1% of Americans and was supposed to be temporary.

Look at where we are today.

Now even some states, and even some cities, have income tax.

Despite some recent property tax problems, you are still far better off living in Wyoming.

As of 2023, nine states including  Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not levy a state income tax.

For those who have always lived in Wyoming, imagine having to fill out your taxes for the federal government, then having to do that same paperwork again for your state, or even a third time for the town you live in.

Wyoming has been fortunate to have its oil gas and coal industries paying the bulk of the taxes the state demands.

States like Florida have such a large tourist industry to pay for most of what their government does.

Wyoming has been working over the past decade to reduce the size of our government to keep its budget balanced.

This makes Wyoming a great place to open a business and retire.

The state has been helped by money from the federal government. But that federal money won't last forever with $35 trillion in debt weighing it down.

Wyoming does have a huge savings account and the state watches it closely. Some of the interest and dividends from those investments are used to keep the burden of spending off the citizens.

While not anywhere near perfect, Wyoming is far better with its money than most states, and that means that the people of Wyoming get to keep more of what they earn.

It is their money, after all.