It's hardly a page from the Goldilocks school of comfort, but the Tar Heel State ranks right in the middle of a new ranking of tax-friendly states, according to Kiplinger's.
The business forecasting giant recently released its updated tax map list. North Carolina scores "mixed" on taxes, compared to other states. An economic powerhouse over the past 20 years, the state also finds itself within a group of 10 states where residents carry the same tax burden.
"The Tar Heel State has been shaking up its tax structure, switching out graduated income tax brackets for a flat tax and capturing more services with its sales tax," the report states. "The tax rate in 2018 is 5.49 percent; in 2019 it will drop to 5.25 percent."
States were ranked on a scale of most tax-friendly, tax-friendly, mixed, not tax-friendly and least tax-friendly.
Wyoming ranked most tax-friendly, due in large part because it levies no state income tax and also has an effective income tax rate of 0 percent. Rounding out the Top Five are Nevada, Alaska, Tennessee and Florida.
Illinois is deemed the least tax-friendly state in the nation. It's followed by Wisconsin, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
A formula of income, sales and property taxes was used to calculate the rankings by the 99-year-old authority on business, investing and personal finance.
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