States Are Running a Tax Experiment and Red America Is Winning

Red and blue states are moving further apart than ever before on tax policy – and new population data shows that Americans are noticing. As high-tax Democrat states continue to bleed population, low-tax Republican states are seeing a surge in growth.

A new study from The Wall Street Journal reveals just how polarized states are becoming on tax policy. “Republican-led states are racing each other to flatten, cut and eliminate individual income taxes, with 23 states lowering their top income-tax rates since 2021,” the Journal reports. “Democratic-controlled states are moving the opposite way, pushing to increase taxes on top earners to combat inequality and plug budget holes.”

Meanwhile, any middle ground – states that have moderate tax burdens – is disappearing:

“In 2006, 15 states had top income-tax rates on wage income below five percent and just one exceeded 10 percent, according to the Tax Foundation, a group that favors lower rates and fewer breaks. Now, more than half of the states have gone below five percent and five others plus the District of Columbia are in double digits.”