It's Tax Time: Here's How California Stacks Up

By MIRNA ALFONSO (Patch Staff)

From WalletHub:

It’s tax season, and Uncle Sam’s back not only to collect but also, it seems, to kick Americans who are already down. The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, or ITEP, found in its latest report that many taxes — including payroll taxes, sales taxes, and some state and local taxes — are regressive, which means they take more money out of the pockets of Americans in the lower- and middle-income brackets than from wealthier families.

After accounting for all taxes, in fact, “the nationwide average effective state and local tax rates by income group are 10.9 percent for the poorest 20 percent of individuals and families, 9.4 percent for the middle 20 percent and 5.4 percent for the top 1 percent,” according to the ITEP.

Such disappointing findings have brought the question of fairness to the forefront of the current tax season.

Tax rates may be lower in one state, but because of a comparatively higher cost of living, the actual tax burden may be higher for that state’s residents, WalletHub reports.

In California, the poor pay the highest taxes, the report shows; the poor pay 9.49 percent of their annual income in taxes; the rich pay 9.35 percent of their annual incomes in taxes.

Below are other figures released by WalletHub.