California
The “tax-friendliness” of a state depends on the sum of income, sales and property tax paid by our sample filers.
The Golden State’s reputation
as a high-tax destination is built in part on how aggressively it goes after
big earners, with a 13.3% tax rate that kicks in at $1 million (for single
filers) of taxable income. But for more modest incomes, the impact is far milder, and property taxes are low.
Still, Californians pay high sales taxes, as well as a high
fuel taxes on all that driving they have to do.