Home owners who loathe paying the tax collector should definitely avoid the New York City area. No, the place for you is Casper, Wyoming.

If you take into account your total tax liability -- that is, federal, state and local income taxes; social security, sales tax, property tax and ad valorem taxes -- New York is your worst nightmare. So are places like Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Cleveland, according to the latest analysis by Runzheimer International, the Rochester, Wisc.-based management consulting firm.

A family of four with an annual income of $60k, living in the suburbs and commuting into Manhattan to work, pays more than 25 cents of every dollar earned to the tax man, Runzheimer found. That's $16,362 or 27.3 percent, to be exact.

In Philly, the tax burden is 26.2 percent, or $17,724. It's 25.2 percent ($15,123) in Beer Town and 25 percent ($14,981) in the Mistake by the Lake.

But in the toddlin' town of Casper, a family fitting the same profile pays only $11,342 or 18.9 percent on its total income in taxes.

In Nashville, the tax liability is $11,902 or 19.8 percent, according to Runzheimer. And it's 19.9 percent ($11,932) in Anchorage and 20.4 percent ($12,242) in Las Vegas.

"The math is simple," says the firm's Art Balicki. "The New York area has some of the highest property taxes in the country, among the highest state income taxes (up to 6.85 percent), a hefty sales tax (7.75 percent), and a local commuter tax.

"By contrast, in Casper, you pay no state income tax, there is no local commuters tax, sales taxes are moderate (5 percent) and property taxes are among the lowest in the country."

Of course, the tax burden is lessened somewhat by being a home owner no matter where you live because you can deduct property taxes and state income taxes on your federal return. But if you are single or married without any kidlets, or if you rent rather than own, your total tax liability can and often does consume a larger portion of your money.

If, in the scenario above, you're a renter rather than an owner, than stay away from Louisville, D.C., Philly or Honolulu. Those places extract the greatest percentage of a renters' income for taxes, the consulting firm also found.

In Louisville, a four-person family living in the 'burbs and earning $60,000 a year pays an average of $15,311 in taxes. That's 25.5 percent of their earnings -- after taking personal exemptions and allowable deductions.

Why Louisville? A high state income tax, steep local wage taxes of more than $1,300 annually, a 6 percent sales tax and an ad valorem tax on vehicles "add up to the highest tax liability in the land," Balicki reports.

The Nation's Capital has a higher "state" income tax than any state -- $4,512 a year on average. Philadelphia has the highest local wage tax -- 4.3 percent for non-residents who work in the city. And Hawaii's income tax is 10 percent for those who taxable income is more than $41,000 a year.

So where's the best place for renter to live from strictly a tax standpoint? Anchorage has no state, local or sales taxes. Consequently, you'll pay only 16.9 percent of your income ($10,145) in total taxes. New Hampshire is the only other state with no state, local or sales taxes, so you'll pay only 17.2 percent ($10,316) in Manchester.

By the way, good-ole Casper slips to fourth for renters at 18.6 percent ($11,171) just behind Miami at 18.4 percent ($11,021).

Either way, though, renter or owner, Balicki is quick to point out that Americans are not taxed nearly as heavily as citizens of most other countries. "All-in-all," says the cost-of-living expert, "despite our complaining, we have more discretionary income after taxes than almost any other group of people on earth."

Published: May 18, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.