I have no idea why NM is a red state in this chart. As for all those who don’t pay Federal Income tax (not at all the same as “non-taxpaying”): Perhaps this is the South’s revenge on the Union.

Fact-Checked: Romney’s ’47%’ Of Non-Taxpaying Americans From Red States | Addicting Info

Fact-Checked: Romney’s ’47%’ Of Non-Taxpaying Americans From Red States | Addicting Info

Romney’s 47% Paying No Taxes Combines Elderly With Poor Workers – The Washington Post

By Richard Rubin, Updated: Tuesday, September 18, 6:00 PM Bloomberg

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) — Elderly Americans and low-wage workers make up the bulk of those who don’t pay income taxes, a group that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said are “dependent on government” and see themselves as “victims.”

For 2011, 46 percent of households didn’t pay federal income taxes. About half of those didn’t pay because of standard deductions and personal exemptions designed to exclude subsistence levels of income from taxation

Romney’s 47% Paying No Taxes Combines Elderly With Poor Workers – The Washington Post