California
California Budget & Policy Center: California’s Undocumented Residents Make Significant Tax Contributions
October 29, 2024
California’s undocumented residents contribute nearly $8.5 billion in taxes, playing a crucial role in supporting public services while remaining excluded from essential programs. Read more.
Yahoo Finance: Jeff Bezos Spent $237 Million On Florida Mansions — Billionaires Flock To ‘Upside Down’ Tax Haven Where Rich Pay Less Than Poor
May 20, 2024
The Sunshine State has become a magnet for billionaires seeking tax relief. Among the latest to join the trend is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has recently expanded his real estate holdings in Miami’s exclusive Billionaire Bunker area. Bezos’ acquisitions include three properties, bringing his total investment in the neighborhood to $237 million.
Forbes: California Is Not Actually a High-Tax State According To New Study
May 17, 2024
Depending on where you fall on the income scale, California may not actually be that high tax of a state. For many in the middle class and below, California may let you keep more of your hard-earned income than many other states, according to a new study, “Who Pays” from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). While California has the highest marginal tax rate in the nation at 13.3%, only some households pay this rate on their income. That doesn’t stop so-called low-tax states like Texas and Florida from blasting the tax policy of the Golden State.
USA Today: Are California’s Taxes Really That High? Not If You’re of ‘Modest Means,’ Report Says
May 1, 2024
Whether it be that all Californians surf, live by the beach or only vote blue, there are a lot of assumptions about residents of the Golden State. Yet a new report is challenging one of the most widely held belief – that Californians shoulder the nation’s highest tax burdens. Read more.
Sacramento Bee: Is California Really a High-Tax State? New Findings Question That Claim
April 25, 2024
Maybe California is not such a high tax state after all — at least for lower income families. “For families of modest means, California is not a high tax state,” says a new study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal Washington research group. Read more.
Is California Really a High-Tax State?
April 16, 2024 • By Carl Davis, Eli Byerly-Duke
Key Findings For families of modest means, California is not a high-tax state. California taxes are close to the national average for families in the bottom 80 percent of the income scale. For the bottom 40 percent of families, California taxes are lower than states like Florida and Texas. The highest earners usually pay higher […]
LA Times: Taxpayer ‘Protection’ or Taxpayer ‘Deception’? A New Ballot Measure Aims to Destroy State and Local Budgets
February 14, 2024
It’s indisputable that the decline of state fiscal management in California began with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978. The tax-cutting initiative upended the tax structure that provided most of the revenues needed by localities and school districts, undermining the locals’ control of their own spending.
California: Who Pays? 7th Edition
January 8, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
California Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in California, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly all (99.2 percent) state and local tax revenue collected in California. State and local tax shares of family income Top 20% Income Group […]
California Budget & Policy Center: California’s Tax & Revenue System Isn’t Fair for All
March 10, 2022
Californians need quality public health and schools, access to affordable housing and clean water, and safe roads and neighborhoods along with many more services to live and thrive – no matter one’s zip code. Accordingly, the state’s tax and revenue system must raise adequate revenue to cover the services provided by state and local governments and make […]
California Budget & Policy Center: Promoting Racial Equity Through California’s Tax and Revenue Policies
April 15, 2021
Legacies of historical racist policies and ongoing discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and housing have barred many Californians of color from economic opportunities. As a result, Californians of color — particularly Black, Latinx, and American Indian Californians — are less likely to have high incomes and to have built enough wealth to be […]
Voters Have the Chance in 2020 to Increase Tax Equity in Arizona, Illinois, and California, And They Should
October 22, 2020 • By Marco Guzman
There’s a lot at stake in this election cycle: the nation and our economy are reeling from the effects brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and states remain in limbo as they weigh deep budget cuts and rush to address projected revenue shortfalls.
Putting California Proposition 15 in Context
October 8, 2020 • By Dylan Grundman O'Neill
Californians are voting now on Proposition 15, which would require commercial and industrial property worth $3 million or more to be taxed based on an up-to-date assessment of full market value. Proposition 15 is sound tax policy that would raise much needed revenue and help to advance racial and economic justice.
Why California’s Cannabis Market May Not Tell You Much about Legalization in Your State
August 22, 2019 • By Carl Davis
New tax data out of California, the world’s largest market for legal cannabis, tell a complicated story about the cannabis industry and its tax revenue potential. Legal cannabis markets take time to establish, and depending on local market conditions, the revenue states raise can vary significantly.
Many States Move Toward Higher Taxes on the Rich; Lower Taxes on Poor People
July 18, 2019 • By Meg Wiehe
Several states this year proposed or enacted tax policies that would require high-income households and/or businesses to pay more in taxes. After years of policymaking that slashed taxes for wealthy households and deprived states of revenue to adequately fund public services, this is a necessary and welcome reversal.
California: Who Pays? 6th Edition
October 17, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
CALIFORNIA Read as PDF CALIFORNIA STATE AND LOCAL TAXES Taxes as Share of Family Income Top 20% Income Group Lowest 20% Second 20% Middle 20% Fourth 20% Next 15% Next 4% Top 1% Income Range Less than $23,200 $23,200 to $39,100 $39,100 to $62,300 $62,300 to $112,900 $112,900 to $261,300 $261,300 to $714,400 over $714,400 […]
Tax Cuts 2.0 – California
September 26, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called “Tax Cuts 2.0” or “Tax Reform 2.0,” which would make the temporary provisions permanent. And they falsely claim that making these provisions permanent will benefit […]
Building on Momentum from Recent Years, 2018 Delivers Strengthened Tax Credits for Workers and Families
July 10, 2018 • By Aidan Davis
Despite some challenging tax policy debates, a number of which hinged on states’ responses to federal conformity, 2018 brought some positive developments for workers and their families. This post updates a mid-session trends piece on this very subject. Here’s what we have been following:
Most States Have Raised Gas Taxes in Recent Years
May 22, 2018 • By Carl Davis
An updated version of this blog was published in April 2019. State tax policy can be a contentious topic, but in recent years there has been a remarkable level of agreement on one tax in particular: the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies.
How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect California Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 16, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill would go into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals would all expire after 2025, with […]
How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect California Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of California residents.
House Tax Plan Offers an Exceptionally Bad Deal for California, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland
November 14, 2017 • By Carl Davis
An ITEP analysis reveals that four states would see their residents pay more in aggregate federal personal income taxes under the House’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. While some individual taxpayers in every state would face a tax increase, only California, New York, Maryland, and New Jersey would see such large increases that their residents’ overall personal income tax payments rise when compared to current law.
How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect California Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 13, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In California, 39 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 20 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.
How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect California Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate…
GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in California with 81.7 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
October 4, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in California equally. The richest one percent of California residents would receive 81.7 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $864,900 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $90,160 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 3.3 percent.
In California 53.9 Percent of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million
August 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A tiny fraction of the California population (0.6 percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But this elite group would receive 53.9 percent of the tax cuts that go to California residents under the tax proposals from the Trump administration. A much larger group, 38.3 percent of the state, earns less than $45,000, but would receive just 3.8 percent of the tax cuts.
