Newsom’s California Tax Whopper

https://wsj.com/articles/gavin-newsom-ron-desantis-debate-taxes-…

The Governor proudly defended his state’s progressive income tax that imposes a top rate of 13.3% on taxpayers making more than $1 million—the second highest in the country after New York City. But he also asserted that Florida “taxes low-income workers more than we tax millionaires and billionaires in the state of California.”

How’s that possible when California imposes higher income, sales and gasoline taxes than Florida? California’s gas tax is 77.9 cents a gallon compared to 35.2 cents in Florida. The average state-and-local sales tax rate in California is 8.85% versus 7.02% in Florida. In addition to soaking its rich, California imposes a 6% top marginal income tax rate on individuals earnings more than $37,789 and 9.3% over $66,296. Florida has no income tax.

Mr. Newsom’s team later said he was referring to a 2018 study by the leftwing Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which says the top 1% of Californians paid 12.4% of their income in state and local taxes while the bottom 20% of earners in Florida paid 12.7%. But this statistical artifact owes to the wealthy spending relatively less of their income than lower-earners. That means California’s high earners aren’t walloped as much by the state’s high gasoline and sales taxes.