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.
Employee Ownership Update
Employee Ownership The following article appeared in the New York Times on May 21, 2006 and is one of the best articles about employee ownership that I have seen. It illustrates a few great examples of how employee ownership has helped companies achieve extraordinary success. These Workers Act Like Owners (Because They Are) By William…
Family Limited
This FLP Alert is directed at clients and their advisors who have already established Family Limited Partnership irs (“FLP’s”) and those clients who are considering a partnership as part of their estate plan. With all the attacks the IRS has made on FLP’s over the past few years, culminating at the Strangi III decision in…
The True Value of Your Company May Be Different From What You Think
The True Value of Your Company May Be Different From What You Think Approaches to Value Intangible Assets Posted: 3/31/11 I’ve received a lot of inquires asking how to value a company that has yet to generate any revenue, has not reached profitability, and yet, it has a substantial history of expenses. Most are start-up…
Does Your Business Need a Buy-Sell Agreement?
Does Your Business Need a Buy-Sell Agreement? What Is Buy-Sell Agreement? Buy-Sell Agreement, also known as a buyout agreement, give the company or other stockholders the option or obligation to purchase the interests of other owners under some specified circumstances called trigger events such as death, departure, or retirement, etc. There are two basic types…