Hawaii, long criticized for its difficult business environment, ranked only in the middle of the U.S. states for business tax burden in a fiscal 2010 study by the Tax Foundation.

However, the tax climate in the Aloha State, which ranked 24th in data released yesterday, has become increasingly more burdensome after ranking 16th in 2007, 18th in 2008 and 22nd in 2009.

In the categories surveyed by the Washington, D.C.-based institute, with the lower listing the better, Hawaii ranked 10th for corporate tax, 44th for individual income tax, 11th for sales tax, 12th for unemployment insurance tax and eighth for property tax.

New Jersey and New York are the worst of the 50 states overall, while South Dakota and Wyoming, which have no corporate or individual income taxes, have the best business climates.

As tax receipts fell in the economic recession, U.S. states faced a combined $165 billion shortage in revenue for the fiscal year that started for most on July 1. Several states enacted “;disproportionately high”; tax rates on personal income, the study found.

The most notable states are Hawaii, New Jersey and Oregon, according to the study. Hawaii and Oregon now have the highest tax rates in the nation, 11 percent, with Hawaii's kicking in when income exceeds $200,000.