Californians Are Dreaming of Lower Taxes
Recent research suggests that higher rates are driving many high earners out of the state.
The state does have its charms.
Photographer: Chris Delmas/AFP
Some Americans like to mock France and Sweden for their high taxes. Yet California — whose economy is bigger than that of both countries — has comparable tax rates, when federal and state tolls are combined, and a new study suggests that they are causing some top earners to leave the state entirely.
This is an issue for more than America’s 39 million Californians. Despite the long-held consensus among many analysts that state-level tax rates don’t matter much, some states seemed to have reached a point at which tax rates are driving many residents’ decisions. That raises the question of whether taxes can continue to rise without significant negative economic consequences.