Today, the Show-Me Institute released a new interactive tax estimator, "Show-Me: The Taxes." Here’s more:

Nobody likes to pay taxes, but no matter where you live or work, some level of taxation is a certainty. Not all locations are the same, though. Sometimes, moving just a few miles down the road may have a significant effect on how much of your own money you get to keep. Unfortunately, though, most people don’t have the resources to compare tax rates for cities and counties throughout the state.

You might well wonder: How much am I paying in taxes? Are my property taxes comparable to the Missouri average? How much tax am I paying on my purchases at the grocery store? Does where I live affect my overall tax burden?

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a way to quickly receive answers to these and other Missouri tax-related questions?

The Show-Me Institute’s Missouri Tax Estimator can help. We’ve collected tax rates from cities and counties across the state to help Missourians better understand the taxes they pay.

The estimator is an interactive Microsoft Excel worksheet, with its macros digitally signed for your protection. It calculates your expected tax burden based on the information you provide, then allows you to change a variable or two in a comparison column, to see how your bottom line might change if you, say, moved to a different town or paid down some debt. It’s both informative and fun — check it out, and tell your friends!