Federal taxes: States foot others' bills

States' federal-tax expenditures are anything but equal. Some states receive more funding than they put into the federal tax pot, leaving other states to make up the difference.

In 2000, taxpayers in New Mexico received twice as much in federal outlays as they paid in federal taxes, according to Scott Moody, a senior economist at the Tax Foundation in Washington. To pick up the slack, taxpayers in Connecticut received 62 cents in federal spending for every dollar paid in taxes. Some other states on the losing end of the deal include California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Minnesota.

During the fiscal year 2001, the federal government will collect nearly $2.1 trillion in tax revenue, the Tax Foundation reported in its recent analysis of federal fiscal operations.

States that benefitted the most and least, and the amount each received per dollar paid in 2000:

TOP BENEFICIARIES TOP BENEFACTORS

1. New Mexico $2.03 1. Connecticut $0.62

2. North Dakota 1.86 2. New Jersey 0.66

3. Mississippi 1.78 3. Nevada 0.69 4. West Virginia 1.75 4. New Hampshire 0.71

5. Alaska 1.68 5. Illinois 0.74

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor