Move over South Dakota, Other States Are Getting In on That No Income Tax Thing

When you're a smaller state like South Dakota, you sometimes need to do things to stand out from the rest of the pack to get noticed.

For years, one of the unique selling points for the Mount Rushmore State was a very tax-friendly environment that has helped to lure not just individuals, but large companies to our area, thanks to a lack of state income tax.

In fact, South Dakota is one of only seven states that do not impose any sort of tax on income. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming are the others.

But as more and more states look to boost their sagging COVID-19 impacted economies, that list is on the verge of growing.

Forbes is reporting that places like Mississippi, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and North Carolina are currently looking at eliminating, or greatly reducing the tax burdens of their citizens.

Mississippi is in phase one of eliminating its current three-tier tax structure and could be income tax-free by 2030.

In Tennessee, there is currently no state tax on incomes, although there is a levy on investment income. But that will be going away come January first.

The same circumstances exist in New Hampshire and there's new momentum there to remove the tax on investments by 2022.

The latest IRS numbers shed some light on why more and more states are reconsidering their stances on income taxes.

The data shows that between 2011 and 2018 more than 3.1 million Americans, accounting for more than $235 billion in yearly wages, moved to one of the nine no-income-tax states.