[quote=spdrun]Oh please — a 3% (meaning 5-10% of total tax burden) tax hike isn’t going to make people stay or leave a state. Especially since the highest tax is on income above $1 million. They’re already paying decent bank to live in California.
The people affected moving to Texas would be like Donald Trump moving out of NYC because his property taxes went up 10%. Right.
Though I have to say that prop 30 raising taxes retroactively was dirty ball — and possibly illegal since the Federal prohibition against ex post facto laws applies to states as well.[/quote]
You are correct that the state income tax hike to 13.3% on the highest earning CA taxpayers BY ITSELF does not involve a lot of people, and it’s not even a lot of tax revenue. But it is on top of an already high tax burden on these people, and for many it constitutes the last straw. Many of the rich who were considering moving themselves or their companies (see previous posts) are looking at the trends in CA and deciding they don’t want a future here. Remember that CA has about the highest other taxes plus el and water rates about twice the national average. Investors and employers place their bets according to where they think there is a reasonable electorate and a welcoming government. No surprise that it is Texas and not California.
