Wealthy Californians Keep Paying More in Taxes

business man waiting for train

 

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.

Posted in
Alternative to Deleting Facebook

Alternative to Deleting Facebook

Facebook is getting a lot of criticism. Last week Apple CEO Tim Cook slam’s Facebook that it wouldn’t be in the situation because it cares about privacy. Facebook is also getting heat from congress over the last presidential election and the spreading of fake news.While some users are calling to delete their Facebook account, there are other options. According to Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook is taking actions to prevent companies from getting your information and ensuring these types of things

leadership

How to Maintain the Most Important Ingredient for Leadership

Remember those battery commercials featuring the Energizer Bunny? He just kept going, and going, and going. Yes, it’s true. That Bunny might have been a little annoying, but the message was clear. Energy is important and you never want to run out of it. So what about energy in the business world? How important is energy to an organization’s success? The truth is it’s vital.Energy Breeds SuccessHave you ever worked for a company that was low on energy? Going to work was probably a drag. There is

Beware of Cryptocurrency Frauds

Beware of Cryptocurrency Frauds

Does it seem like a new cryptocurrency is born each day? Digital coins are popping up continuously, with each hoping to be the next Bitcoin. While most cryptocurrencies will likely never reach the value of Bitcoin, some of them have no intention to. That’s because scammers are becoming more prevalent all the time in the cryptocurrency market.If you haven’t been paying attention, several agencies are starting to sound alarms. According to recent reports, The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading

When Is a Good Time to Get Into the Stock Market Game?

When Is a Good Time to Get Into the Stock Market Game?

Anyone who has ever studied or even followed the stock market knows that market ebbs and flows. There will always be ups, and there will always be downs. That’s simply the nature of investing. If it were easy to predict then everyone would be successful and wildly wealthy.Last year saw amazing gains in the stock market, as a whole. However, this year, things have been heading in the other direction. Just last month the market saw some big dips, including a one-day loss on the Dow Jones of more