I made money in two states and the credit given in my resident state did not reduce my tax burden to compensate fully for the income in the other. Is this fair?

[sjbowden21]

My home state is Georgia, but I made a little over half my income in Louisiana. I was taxed in Louisiana as a nonresident based only on the amount I made in Louisiana, but in Georgia my total gross income was taxed, minus the resident credit for income made in the other state.

My resident credit was the lesser of the would be Georgia tax on the money I made in Louisiana, and the tax I paid to Louisiana on Louisiana income. State income tax is lower in Louisiana than in Georgia, so my credit was not enough to cover all of the money I made in Louisiana. Thus the dollar amount of taxes I then owed to Georgia is the tax owed on an income greater than the amount of money I made in Georgia, and it includes some of the Louisiana income. Since I already paid state taxes to Louisiana based on my income made in Louisiana, is this not double taxation? 

Many states use this method for income made in other states and it seems off.

[SweetieJean]

It is not double taxation. It is because of the difference in the tax rates between the two states.

Example:

Work state rate is 5%.

Home state rate is 6%.

Home state gives you credit for the 5% paid to Work state. You owe Home state the additional 1%.

You come out the same as if you had worked in Home state.

[sjbowden21]

But if the income tax in Work state is higher than in Home state, why don't I come out as if I had worked in Home state then? If that happens I pay higher tax to Work state, plus Home state tax on the rest. I don't get to credit the amount I paid to Work state in that case, I credit the tax on Work state income at Home state rates. Seems like Home state gets to have it both ways, they receive higher than Home state rates when tax in Work state is lower, but they don't have to receive less than Home State rates when tax in Work state is higher. In other words, when Work state tax rate is higher, Home state only taxes Home state income. But when Work state rates are lower, Home state taxes Home state income plus some of the Work state income to make total tax equal to home state rates. How is this fair