A new Tax Foundation study ranks states on the basis of the ratio of tax dollars sent out to Washington in federal tax payments to tax dollars returned via federal spending. The top five winner states — New Mexico, North Dakota, Alaska, Mississippi, and West Virginia — receive more than they send out. The top five loser states — New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Massachusetts — send out more than they receive back. States that pay out more than they receive back in the form of federal expenditures could maintain their current levels of federal spending with existing tax bases. In other words, instead of continuing to subsidize other states, they could secede and continue to maintain current level of federal spending projects.
