Most taxpayers bid tax day good riddance – though the tax collectors seem to consider it an on-the-job holiday.
This tax week is a little different than usual, since the Governor and his allies are briskly circulating a proposal to raise income and sales taxes to staunch the state budget deficit.
Though Gov. Brown has distanced himself from the rhetoric, his allies promoting this measure are demanding that “millionaires pay their fair share.”
Once the measure qualifies, let’s hope the Governor’s message about school funding and a balanced budget take hold, rather than the left’s lust for class warfare. After all, by any measure, California’s progressive income tax really does reach deeply into the pockets of the well-to-do.
Not only do the top 1% of tax filers with the most income now pay around 40 percent of state income taxes, but the more money you make, the higher is your effective tax rate. The chart below, based on 2009 Franchise Tax Board data, shows that wealthy Californians inevitably pay more as they earn more.
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