Montana

Employer Costs, Take-Home Pay, and Tax Wedge for an
Average Manufacturing Wage Worker in MONTANA


	Annual
	Amount	Rank


Total Cost to Employer*	$31,463	6

Take-Home Pay	$22,267	33
Take-Home Pay, % of Employer Costs	70.8%	36

Tax Wedge*	$9,196	6
Tax Wedge, % of Employer Costs	29.2%	9

Gross Earnings	$27,200	N/A

Taxes Withheld from Worker's Paycheck
Social Security/Medicare Payroll Tax	$2,081	N/A
Federal Income Tax	$2,048	N/A
State Income Tax	$805	19
	-----------
Total Taxes Withheld	$4,933

Hidden Taxes Paid by Employer on Worker's Behalf
Social Security/Medicare Payroll Tax	$2,081	N/A
Workers' Compensation Contribution	$1,934	6
State Unemployment Insurance Tax	$192	26
Federal Unemployment Insurance Tax	$56	N/A
	-----------
Total Employer-Paid Taxes	$4,263

Employer-Paid (hidden) Share of the Tax Wedge	46.4%	13


Source: Dean Stansel, "The Hidden Burden of Taxation: How the Government Reduces
Take-Home Pay," Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 302, April 15, 1998.
*Total cost to employer does not include the cost of fringe benefits (such as employer contributions to private health insurance plans and pensions) and tax and regulatory compliance. The tax wedge does not include the host of other taxes--property taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, cigarette taxes, etc.--that workers must pay with their remaining take-home pay.