According to the Tax Foundation’s 2019 report on state and local tax rates, Tennessee is ranked highest in the country with a sales tax rate of 9.47 percent.
“Tennessee has an excellent tax system overall, along with a balanced budget requirement, that has helped our state flourish over time,” said Tennessee State Director Jim Brown. “While our sales tax is high, our franchise and excise tax on businesses also is relatively high. Several other taxes, however, have been lowered, like the sales tax on groceries, or eliminated, like the death tax. NFIB will continue to review our tax structure to make sure it’s as fair and efficient as possible, which includes our efforts to repeal the amusement tax on small gyms and the so-called professional ‘privilege’ tax.”
The report shows that while no states have changed since July 2018, the District of Columbia raised its sales taxes from 5.75 percent to 6 percent in October.
The states with the highest average combined state and local sales tax rates are Tennessee (9.47 percent), Louisiana (9.45 percent), Arkansas (9.43 percent), Washington (9.17 percent), and Alabama (9.14 percent). The states with the lowest average combined rates are Alaska (1.43 percent), Hawaii (4.41 percent), Wyoming (5.36 percent), Wisconsin (5.44 percent), and Maine (5.50 percent).
Read more about the study here: https://taxfoundation.org/sales-tax-rates-2019
