EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, JULY 27, 2001 (FRIDAY)
                                
Public Information Office                                      CB01-127
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William Kehm
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                 State Government Tax Collections Up 8 Percent, 
                        Census Bureau Reports

  State government tax revenues grew from $500 billion in 1999 to
$540 billion in 2000, an 8 percent increase, according to tabulations
released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

  Among major taxes, severance revenues increased the most (39 percent),
followed by revenues from occupation and business licenses (16 percent)
and individual income taxes (13 percent). Severance taxes are imposed on
nonrenewable natural resources such as oil, gas and coal in 36 states.
They constitute less than 1 percent of the total state taxes, but are
significant revenue producers in states such as Alaska.

  The tabulations from the 2000 Annual Survey of State Tax Collections
show tax collections by category and population and per capita taxes
collected for every state.

  Unlike last year, no state showed a decrease in total tax revenue. The
states with the largest percentage increases in total tax collections
were: New Hampshire (up 58 percent because of the enactment of several new
tax laws), Alaska (up 57 percent because of the effect of oil price
increases that raised severance taxes), Wyoming (up 19 percent) and
California (up 16 percent).

  State governments' reliance on specific taxes varied considerably.
Several states obtained most of their tax revenue from individual income
and general sales taxes. Georgia led this group with 81 percent, followed
by Massachusetts, Hawaii and Colorado (78 percent each) and Utah (77
percent).
                                
  At the other end of the spectrum, individual income and general sales
taxes accounted for less than 50 percent of state government taxes in
seven states North Dakota (45 percent), Vermont (44 percent), Wyoming (38
percent), Montana (37 percent), Delaware (34 percent), New Hampshire (4
percent) and Alaska, which does not impose either tax.

  Nationally, per capita taxes collected by states were $1,922 for every
man, woman and child. However, the range varied among individual states.
For example, per capita taxes were highest in Connecticut ($2,987),
Delaware ($2,871), Hawaii ($2,752), Minnesota ($2,711) and Massachusetts
($2,544). The lowest per capita state taxes were in New Hampshire
($1,372), Tennessee ($1,360), Texas ($1,315) and South Dakota ($1,228).

  The data used in the tabulations came from state government records.
Although quality assurance methods were applied to all phases of data
collection and processing, the data are subject to nonsampling error,
including errors of response and miscoding.