Gov. Jerry Brown and a few other state politicians have been upfront in their concern about a potential exodus of the taxpaying rich to other states, some of which have no state income taxes, such as neighboring Nevada, Texas and Florida.
There were anecdotal accounts of such relocations following a 2016 ballot measure that made higher income tax rates semi-permanent – hitting the wealthy for about $6 billion a year. But the real test may come a year from now, when Californians must file their federal returns without being able to fully deduct their state and local taxes and must write bigger checks to make up the difference – a difference now pegged at $12 billion.
Washington’s Republicans may have wanted to punish California, New York and other high-tax blue states – rubbing SALT in their political wounds, so to speak, from being on the losing side of the 2016 presidential race. But it’s disingenuous for California’s politicians to complain when the feds are merely following their lead of piling more taxes on those at the top of the societal heap.
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