Federal Tax Winners and Losers (posted August 9, 1999)

A new Tax Foundation study shows which states are the biggest beneficiaries of the federal government, measured by the amount of federal receipts returned to their state compared to tax dollars sent to Washington. The ratio is a measure of how much each state gets in return for its federal tax contributions. The higher the ratio, the more the state gets back in federal receipts. A ratio of $1.00 indicates that the state gets a dollar of federal receipts for each tax dollar sent to Washington. A ratio under $1.00 indicates the state receives less in federal dollars than it sends to Washington. The following analysis, which ranks the states from winners to losers, is based on 1998 data. The District of Columbia is the top gainer from the national government, while New Jersey is the biggest loser.