Do Californians really pay the nation’s highest taxes? It depends, experts say
Californians have some of the nation’s biggest tax burdens. But they’re far from the worst.
WalletHub, a financial services firm, found the state has the nation’s 12th highest tax burden.
The Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning Washington research group, also found that in some cases, California’s taxes are not at the top. It detailed its findings in its annual state-by-state look at all kinds of taxes, 42 different tables in all.
Make no mistake, though, some taxes are still among the nation’s highest. California ranks second in state tax collections per person, the Tax Foundation found.
California collects $6,325 per person, well above the national average of $3,831. Vermont is higher at $6,356. At the bottom of the list is Alaska at $1,438.
California’s gasoline taxes top the list. Buy gas in the state and you’ll pay 53.9 cents a gallon in state excise taxes. The same gallon in Alaska would include a 9-cent tax. And its income tax rate on the wealthy is considered the nation’s steepest.
But while other taxes are high compared to most states, they’re not the highest.
Combined state and local sales taxes in California are the seventh highest in the nation, the Tax Foundation says. Cell phone taxes rank 15th. State and local property tax collections per person also rank 15th.
Want a drink? The excise tax on beer ranks 30th in the nation. And of the 45 states that tax wine, California ranks lowest.
One more piece of upbeat news: Californians on average have more to spend. The foundation found the state’s income per person ranked only behind the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.
WalletHub’s analysis used much the same parameters to determine tax burden, or the proportion of total personal income that people pay toward state and local taxes.
To determine the tax burden, it considered property tax, individual income tax and total sales and excise tax as a share of personal income.
California ranked 12th in this tax burden measure. New York topped the list, and Alaska was last.
California’s taxes have become a favorite political topic in recent years. In January, Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “Our tax rates, again, are lower than the state of Texas.”
The WalletHub study found that Texas’ tax burden ranked 29th and the burden in Florida, another state that governor Newsom likes to criticize, was 46th. Neither state has a state income tax.
But Texas’ property tax burden is the country’s eighth highest, while Florida ranks 25th. California is 23rd.
Florida’s sales taxes are 18th highest. Texas ranks 11th and California is 31st.
