[gunapologist99]

> So, yes, if you’re making millions per year in taxable income, California’s top rate is higher.

But isn't that what "top rate" meant in the first place? It doesn't mean "median".

Seems like you're moving the goal posts over a few percentage points. Whether it's 12% or 14.4%[0], it's very high.

And at some point those very wealthy and highly mobile people start thinking, "maybe we should crunch the data and do what other wealthy people are doing: find a state with a more reasonable tax bite."

0. https://www.wsj.com/articles/gavin-newsoms-stealth-tax-incre...

[acdha]

Remember that I was correcting someone who hyperbolically claimed California “taxes are the highest in the country and take almost 40% of your income” in a thread claiming that taxes were high enough to make California employee-unfriendly. Whether it’s the 2023 or 2024 rate, they were arguing triple the actual rate and very, very, very few employees in the state are paying even that top rate. Even the WSJ editorial board–hardly neutral–clearly state that this only applies to people making over $1M a year (the top 1% starts around $550k, so that’s pretty elite!).

If you want to accuse anyone of shifting goalposts, start with the people trying to portray the concerns of the top .1% as employee issues.