Wealthy Californians Keep Paying More in Taxes
The tax numbers are in for the state of California and all signs point to the wealthy paying more than their fair share. With tax day now behind us it’s a key time to take a closer look into the real numbers in the Golden state, especially since income taxes account for more than 65 percent of the state’s revenue in the current budget year.
According to the latest number from the Franchise Tax Board, almost 90 percent of that tax revenue comes from just 20 percent of the taxpayers; those who make $91,000 or more. Taxpayers in that income range are the only taxpayers who have seen an average income increase during the past two years.
Meantime, the top 1 percent of taxpayers, those with an adjusted gross income of at least $501,000 paid close to half – 45 percent – of all state income tax revenue. Taxpayers in this bracket reported an average AGI of $1.6 million in 2013, which is nearly double the amount of the average AGI in 1994. Meanwhile, all other income brackets have seen a decline in their average AGI.
So what does all this mean for the state budget? The governor’s spending plan now expects that income tax revenue will be higher than what lawmakers originally expected when they passed the budget last year. However, that is not due to overall income growth, but rather because they expect higher-income taxpayers to see their income increase even more, which means they will pay higher marginal tax rates.
Retire Your Mortgage Before You Retire
Retire Your Mortgage Before You Retire By George L. Duarte, MBA, CMC Broker, Horizon Financial Associates An increasing number of baby-boomer homeowners seem to be resigning themselves to the fact that, unlike their parents, they will be making mortgage payments well into retirement. If you look at statistics, you can see where this anxiety comes…
Building an Estate Planning Team
Building an Estate Planning Team To create an estate plan that serves your unique needs and that will execute your wishes as to the distribution of your assets is an important and, often, a complex task. Such professionals usually have honed their skills in their own specific fields. Sound estate planning is built upon a…
Investors: A Growing Taste For Exotic Fare
Investors: A Growing Taste For Exotic Fare Even conservative investors are tempted by the returns of emerging-market funds For many managers of emerging-market funds, the biggest problem these days is that folks just love them too much. It used to be that buying stocks in Turkey and picking up distressed debt in Argentina was for…
When it Comes to Payroll Taxes, Don’t Mess With the IRS
When it Comes to Payroll Taxes, Don’t Mess With the IRS It’s payday! Everybody loves payday, except for the company making all those payments. It’s not that companies don’t want to pay their employees; rather it’s the high cost of payroll taxes that comes with having those employees. However, that’s the law, so if your…