[mercutio2]

You seem to be confusing marginal tax rate with effective tax rate.

People making 300k in California will pay between 33% and 39% effective tax rate (depending on marital status), including State, Federal, and FICA.

And that’s without simple tax sheltering techniques like pre-tax deduction for health care, contributing to a 401k, and deducting mortgage interest.

https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator

[mercutio2]

Actually, that’s a terrible link. Before Trump’s tax increase targeting CA/NY, the SALT itemized deduction lowers the effective tax rate by a further 3% or so, and that calculator fails to include it.