Just when I thought that my husband and I have been paying too much taxes, we are having another tax hike in California. This is a basic run down of the new taxes.
- The vehicle licensing fee is doubling to 1.15%.
- Sales tax is going up 1%, which means in San Mateo County I will be paying 9.25% on services and non-food goods. So guess what, my hubby and I will probably shop more on Amazon for the non-essentials.
- Income tax is going up by 0.25% so the top bracket is now 10.55% for those making over $1 million per year and 9.55% for everyone else. For the hubby and I the extra amount we will pay is just under the paltry stimulus package we are getting from Obama. So our net stimulus would be around 50 cents a week. Haha!
- The dependent tax credit is reduced by $210, so families with tons of kids will see a hit in their tax bill.
It is unfortunate, but this state has way too much debt and something had to be done. Raising taxes is a almost inevitable. Supposedly these tax hikes are temporary for two to four years, but the economic crisis might make them permanent.
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11 comments ↓
Your not telling the true story. They did not have to raise taxes. For some people will be $1,200 to $32,000 EXTRA per year. We will be like this in less then 2 years. It is because of the greedy union people and raid by the Mexican workers. Workers who will not pay the taxes but will receive it.
Just to make you feel somewhat good about this, our sales tax in Indiana is 7%, and it is scheduled to go up to 10% in scheduled increments of 1% per year. Though, the income tax is flat, 3.4% or so.
California is basically the new Big 3. Unions are sucking the state coffers dry. This state will be in trouble until it can stop the runaway spending. Also the costs of public services for illegal immigrants and workers should be scrutinized. It could be a non-trivial expense.
Amazon charges sales tax to CA addresses, so I’m not sure what you’re getting at there. The best way to “defeat” this is to buy used items and spend less. i.e. don’t buy any new cars or houses.
Mish has a great explanation of how California can balance its budget without raising taxes. No point in even blaming immigrants — a lot of the budget actually goes to pensions. Here’s his take: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/01/mishs-california-budget-proposal.html
Now why won’t the politicians listen to folks like him instead of insisting on raising taxes?
-Erica
hmm.. if Amazon charges sales tax to CA then it must be something new. We just bought something two weeks ago and there was no sales tax.
I’m not from California and I’m just wondering: Is it possible to “run away” from debt just by moving to another state. I read somewhere, that the debt was incurred, in order to build roads, keep up schools and police, without raising taxes. So now that the reckoning day seems to have come, maybe it will be best to move on and leave the burden to the immigrants.
to admin’s note: CA will tighten up on state sales taxes for Californians for out of state purchases, major example: on-line purchases.
and regarding “Income tax
is going up by 0.25% so the top bracket is now 10.55% for those making over $1 million per year and 9.55% for everyone else”… will someone please tell me why those people who only earn $990 k a year will have their tax rate increased.
Someone in Sacramento could have raised the incline a little on that sliding scale and raise the tax rate a chunk higher for those who can really afford it. What does anyone actually do with $1 million a year, after blowing a few $Mil ina few years what would there be left to reasonably spend it on? A third Ferrari, another swimming/gymnasium, etc?
cheers, R
What the people in California don’t get, I think, is that the high taxes (and high costs) are just driving out taxpayers. I was reading that the percapita taxes in California was over $6400 per year (versus Texas which is $3800/year). And, this is only half of the story. The regualtion here makes everything more expensive. This includes housing, utilities, etc.
When my wife and I moved to Texas we ended up paying $1000/month less in taxes and another $1000/month in housing, utilities, and food. Driving taxpayers out is going to bury California.
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