[long_time_gone]

It's kind of beside the point, but it's because of how California collects taxes from citizens. Property taxes are artificially low due to Prop 13. In order to collect needed taxes, California has instituted a high (very graduated) income tax rate. Income taxes are collected by the state and property taxes typically by the county and/or city.

In my state, Illinois, we have the opposite problem. Our state income tax is a flat rate (4.95%). In order for politicians to raises taxes, they target property taxes. The result is one of the highest property tax rates in the country.