California has one of the worst tax climates in the nation, tax group analysis finds
Good morning and welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of the A.M. Alert!
CALIFORNIA’S TAX CLIMATE: WORST IN THE NATION?
Via David Lightman...
California’s tax climate remains one of the country’s worst, an analysis by the Tax Foundation reports.
The center-right group rates tax competitiveness using several factors, notably taxes. California was 48th, ahead of only New York and New Jersey. Best tax climates were in Wyoming and South Dakota.
The group listed five different tax rankings. California was 49th in income tax, where its top rate of 13.3% for millionaires is the nation’s highest local income tax rate. Only New York placed worse.
California’s sales tax ranked 46th and its corporate tax was 41st. There were better rankings for property taxes, where California was 23rd highest, and the unemployment insurance tax, 25th.
State officials maintain that a closer look would show that while California’s income tax rate for the wealthy is high, it has a highly progressive tax scale and middle and lower class earners pay a competitive rate.
A study earlier this year by the progressive Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy found that families in the bottom 80% of the income scale — with annual incomes of $145,900 or less — overall tax rates are within a percentage point of the national average.
ANOTHER CHECK IN THE ‘HE’S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT’ COLUMN
Via Lia Russell...
Gov. Gavin Newsom will publish his third book, a memoir that will likely boost his national profile, next May.
Politico first reported Tuesday that Newsom will publish “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery” on May 13, 2025 via the Penguin Publishing Group. The book, which Newsom has purportedly been writing for four years, will explore the “defining moments that inspired” him to enter politics, according to a pre-order listing. He previously wrote a children’s book, “Ben and Emma’s Big Hit,” and “Citizenville,” about people using technology to “reshape government.”
Newsom cannot run again as governor after his current term ends in November 2026. While he has not confirmed his future plans, the governor has made a series of steps to bolster his national profile that suggest he is considering a run for higher office, including a possible 2028 presidential bid.
Most recently, he called a special legislative session to “protect California values” after Donald Trump won a second presidential term earlier this month.
Other Democratic politicians, such as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama wrote memoirs before launching their own campaigns.
PLEASE WELCOME LIA RUSSELL TO THE CAPITOL BUREAU
Lia Russell is The Sacramento Bee’s new State Governor reporter. They’re tasked with covering Newsom, his administration, and his plans for his last two years in office while President-elect Trump threatens to undo many of the state’s climate and immigration policies and withhold disaster relief aid. They’re also keen to track Newsom’s plans for life after 2026, when he is expected to consider a run for higher office.
Originally from San Francisco, Lia is returning to the Golden State after 12 years on the east coast. Most recently, they were a politics reporter for the Baltimore Sun, covering everything from political corruption in Baltimore County to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this year.
Before that, Lia was the city hall reporter for the Bangor Daily News in northeastern Maine and reported for a trade publication in Washington, D.C. They graduated from Bard College in upstate New York in 2017 and earned a master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School in 2021.
Away from the newsroom, Lia looks forward to climbing Mount Lassen again with their family this summer, and hiking around Yosemite and Shasta, Butte, and Tehama counties. They can be reached by email (lrussell@sacbee.com), and welcome any and all ideas about how to critically cover the Newsom administration.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Tariffs are taxes.”
- California Republican political consultant Matt Rexroad, via Bluesky.
Best of The Bee:
Assemblyman Kevin McCarty declares victory in Sacramento mayoral race. ‘I am honored,’ via Theresa Clift.
Experts split on whether Gavin Newsom’s economic plan can be effective, via Lia Russell.
Why have feral chickens taken over the streets and yards of Yuba City? ‘Only God knows,’ via Jake Goodrick.
Man threatens to ‘bury’ and ‘torture’ Donald Trump in video shared to Facebook, feds say, via Julia Marnin.
How could California’s more favorable budget outlook impact contracts with state employees? Via William Melhado.