States With The Highest Taxes Include New York, New Jersey: Report

If you want to hide from the taxman and don't mind six-month-long winters, you may want to move to Alaska.

Alaskans pay just 7 percent of their income to state and local taxes, making it the cheapest state for taxes in the country, according to a report published on Tuesday by the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based tax policy group that advocates for a simpler tax code.

For tens of millions of Americans living in the northeast part of the country, it's a very different story. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are the three most expensive states to live in when it comes to state and local taxes.

New Yorkers pay the highest rate in the nation, handing over 12.8 percent of their income to state and local taxes. Next are residents of New Jersey, who pay 12.4 percent, and Connecticut residents pay 12.3 percent, the report showed.

These three states have been the most expensive tax-wise for the past five years, according to the tax group. The higher taxes reflect other regional demographic trends, including higher incomes and more capital gains.

Chris Christie, New Jersey's Republican governor, has pushed for tax cuts for New Jersey residents in order to stimulate the local economy. New York's governor Andrew Cuomo, who is a Democrat, has pushed to shuffle around the tax-burden so that the wealthiest would pay more than middle-class earners.

Meanwhile, Alaskan residents have natural resources to thank for their cheap tax rates. According to the report, the state raises more than 70 percent of its revenue from oil extraction. Other states with the lowest state and local taxes include South Dakota, with a 7.6 percent tax rate, and Tennessee at with a 7.7 percent tax rate.