Virginia continues to have a low sales tax burden compared with other states.

The Washington-based Tax Foundation recently issued an updated comparison of the overall sales tax residents of different states pay, including statewide sales taxes and local sales taxes.

Virginia ranked as one of the five states with the lowest sales tax burden.

That's because, while Virginia localities are allowed to charge a 1 percent sales tax on top of the 4 percent state sales tax, it still adds up to only 5 percent.

That puts Virginia in the bottom five, along with Hawaii (where the combined sales tax rate is 4.35 percent), Maine (5 percent), Wyoming (5.34 percent), and Wisconsin (5.43 percent).

Neighboring Tennessee, on the other hand, ranks as having the highest combined sales tax rate, at 9.43 percent. (Tennessee does not, however, impose a state income tax.)

It's followed by Arizona (at 9.12 percent), Louisiana (8.84 percent), Washington (8.79 percent) and Oklahoma (8.66 percent).

Those are average rates; in some places, the local sales taxes makes the rates even higher. The highest rate in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation, is in Tuba City, Ariz., where the total combined rate is 13.725 percent. That includes a state tax, a county tax and a 6 percent tribal tax.

The average combined sales tax among Virginia's neighboring states varies. Maryland comes in at 6 percent, as does West Virginia. North Carolina is at 6.85 percent (that includes a 2.10 percent local tax).

Looking only at state sales taxes, and not including local taxes, California has the highest rate, at 7.25 percent.

States with the highest average local rates--not included the state rate--are Louisiana (with an average 4.84 percent local rate); Alabama (4.64 percent); Colorado (4.58 percent); New York (4.48 percent); and Oklahoma (4.16 percent).

According to the Tax Foundation, 14 states have no local sales taxes, and five states--Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon--don't have state sales taxes.

Of those five, only Alaska allows localities to charge a local sales tax. In fact, the highest single local sales tax in the Tax Foundation study was in Wrangell, Alaska, where the local sales tax is 7 percent.

Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com