One prevailing stereotype of Californians—shared by state residents as well as red-state politicians and the Trump Administration—is that we pay higher taxes than anyone else in the country.
A national consumer website, WalletHub, this month has released its 2018 Taxpayer Survey, as well as its yearly Tax Rates by State report. And it shows that when you take into account all kinds of taxes that we pay, Californians pay overall tax rates that are among the lowest in the U.S.—not the highest.
The survey features a wide range of facts about people’s opinions on taxes, and the tax rate report compares the cost of the average person’s various obligations in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The report discovered that states with no income tax aren’t always the cheapest overall, as they tend to have higher sales and property taxes.
California ranked 8th lowest among all states for it “Overall Effective State and Local Tax Rate,” according to the survey.
Broken down, California had the 11th lowest income tax, and the 17th lowest real estate tax rates.
The state ranked less well—around the median—for vehicle property tax, 27th and 30th lowest for sales and excise taxes.
The website’s annual taxpayer survey reported that fewer than 4 in 10 people are happy with President Trump’s tax reforms: 69 percent of people think the reforms are better for corporations than consumers, and 67 percent think they benefit the rich more than the middle class.
The survey also revealed that:
90 percent of people think the government currently does not spend their tax dollars wisely
30 percent of people say making a math mistake is their biggest fear when filling out tax forms
37 percent of people would move to a different country for a tax-free future
22 percent would switch political parties.
