California's High Tax-And-Spend Image Unjust Says Report

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

02 September 2003

According to a recent study by the Federation of Tax Administrators, California is wrongly perceived as a high tax-and-spend state, ranking only 19th out of fifty states in terms of the tax burden carried by individuals and businesses, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

The league table is based on the percentage of all taxes, fees and other costs of an individual's or business's income in the year 2000 (the most recent year that records are available) and is considered by some analysts to be the most accurate measure of the tax burden borne by the general populace.

"There is a perception that California is a high tax-and-spend state," Arturo Perez, an analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver comments in the SF Chronicle report, adding: "It is above average. But it is far from having the highest rate of taxation."

California's high cost of living, high property prices and the most expensive gasoline in the country are probably the underlying factors that contribute to the image of a high tax state.

The subject of taxation is probably the key issue being focused on by candidates in the Californian recall election, particularly by the Republicans, and their most high profile candidate actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has publicly pledged not raise taxes, saying the people of the state have been "punished" enough.

Meanwhile, a study undertaken by the Rockefeller Institute of Government in New York that included just taxes and excluded fees found that California ranked ninth highest in the nation.

Recommended