"No other large city comes close" to New York in terms of the tax burden, says the city's Independent Budget Office. Calculating New Yorker's combined city-state tax burden for 2003–04, the IBO came up with the hefty tariff of $9.02 for every $100 earned. The equivalent number in Dallas, for instance, was $5.20. So what are we getting for our extra $3.82 that big-haired Texans aren't? (Well, other than the obvious things like the ability to walk on sidewalks, or sidewalks in general?) Health care, for one thing — the city paid 25 percent of Medicaid costs in 2003 and 2004, running up a $42 billion tab until Albany capped that spending. Naturally, business advocacy groups see the numbers as "very troubling." We're not so sure. Quality of life is a tough thing to quantify, but ask yourself this: Would you move to Dallas for a 3.82 percent salary increase?

Apple's Tax Bit Absolute Worst [NYP]