California: Taxing high-earners

Dan Weintraub Weblog ^ | January 16, 2004 | Dan Weintraub

[John Jorsett]

Democrat Assemblywoman Wilma Chan of Oakland, backed by 24 of her colleagues, has introduced a bill to increase the top income tax rates in hopes of raising about $3 billion a year. Chan

[John Jorsett]

How dare you bring wealth and jobs to this state? The back of our hands to you!

[.38sw]

If such a proposal is put to the voters, I'm not sure it would pass. I have a vague memory of voting "No" a few years ago to extend the top tax rate of 11% - wasn't it expiring, and the vote was whether or not to renew it? I remember that it failed. Now, the 11% tax rate won't directly affect my husband and me, as we don't make that kinda dough, but tax rates that certainly affect the economy, as people who would be paying those taxes can and do take themselves, the jobs they provide, and their spending out of California. It's a bad idea.

[So Cal Rocket]

If you raise the tax rate on the "super rich" from 9.3% to 10%, it only takes 1 out of every 15 "super rich" Californians to leave the state for the total income tax revenue to FALL.

If you factor in Sales Tax, Prop Tax and other taxes the "super rich" pay, it's probably more like 1 out of 25.

[Reagan Man]

The top end for California income tax rates is 9.3%?! I didn't know it was that high. Here in Colorado we pay 4.63%.

When you consider that a family of four in 1950 paid roughly 5% to Uncle Sam, 9.3% seems way to high for a state income tax.

No wonder California is in such deep doodoo!

[Dog Gone]

This should definitely discourage anyone who makes much money from moving to, or staying in, California.

Way to go!

[lewislynn]

it only takes 1 out of every 15 "super rich" Californians to leave the state for the total income tax revenue to FALL.

After they leave maybe I can pick up some of their beach front property dirt cheap.

[daviddennis]

If you remember, the first income tax was 6% or so, and it was imposed only on those who made more than $500k a year (which was more like $5m today).

We know that government rapaciousness always goes down to our level, no matter what that may be :-(.

D

[Ronin]

Well, Duh... when all the top earners say a hearty "bluck few" to California and move, they are going to take a lot of jobs with them.

Nice move Californicate.

[onedoug]

Typical socialist re-distribution of wealth scheme.

DamnedcRats.

[Drango]

it only takes 1 out of every 15 "super rich" Californians to leave the state

I'm posting this from the Seattle area....

[John Jorsett]

And let's not forget the sales tax rate of 7.25% (to which local governments can add up to an additional .5%), gasoline tax of 18 cents per gallon (and sales tax is charged on the tax itself!), and property tax. You name it, California taxes it.

[Amerigomag]

If you factor in Sales Tax, Prop Tax and other taxes the "super rich" pay, it's probably more like 1 out of 25.

Close.

Last year 4% of Californians, who earned enough to pay taxes, paid 50 % of the personal income tax the state collected. Thats only 275,000 individuals out of population approaching 25,000,000 or about 0.01%

The top 9% of taxpayers, paid 75% of the income taxes collected.

If you start looking at combined income and sales tax I shudder to think how small that number might really be. They probably would all fit in the Rose Bowl.

[coloradan]

Well, there's the tax and the tax tax. Next up, the tax tax tax. State legislators are working on closing the tax tax tax loopholes, which will result in a tax tax tax tax. About damn time!

[supercat]

The analogy I like to use is a shopping mall: if a shopping mall is losing money and losing tenants, are they more apt to turn their situation around by raising rents or cutting them?

As long as we live in a free country, there's a limit to how much tax the government can get out of people. Unfortunately, even though the government is well past the maximal-revenue point of the Laffer curve, the politicians don't care because the real purpose of taxes isn't to raise revenue--it's to subjugate the populace.

[lilylangtree]

Increase the taxes on the wealthy? Start with Oprah and Barbra and work on down. H'weirdo could do with increased taxes on their wealthy.

[Tacis]

If you have a handful of conservative college kids and can build a web site, it might be educational to check on the taxable real property of some of our California neocommunist wing nuts. Property tax records, unlike income tax records, are a matter of public record. It would be interesting to see what Streisand's palatial Malibu castle and estate of assessed at and what taxes she pays.

My bet is that she doesn't pay full price. There are either abatements and portions that are taxed at a lower than residence rate.

Some income might be checked as payments are made to entities outside of California. These lefties have perfected tax avoidance. When you get $20 million a film and the tax rate is close to 10%, there are real incentives to shield income from that 10% by whatever means possible. Can anyone work on this?

[goldstategop]

They're not touching Wes Boyd and George Soros' trust funds. Some rich folks are off the Democrats' class warfare list cause they're proven party backers.