Tuesday, January 13, 2026

SMOKE AND MIRRORS, PIXIE DUST AND UNICORN TURDS

By Bob Walsh

 

California with US cash.


The proposed budget for the formerly great state of California has been previewed by the governor.  It is legally required to be balanced, so it is, at least in theory.  

According to the theoretically non-partisan Legislative Analysts Office the budget proposal makes a LOT of assumptions that are maybe not valid.

In the formerly great state of California about 1% of the tax payers pay about 50% of the income tax in the state.  Those people are leaving the state and preparing to leave the state in great numbers.

CA really likes money and they grab it whenever they can.  If you are a jock and you play in the Super Bowl the state of CA considers that the portion of your income you earn from playing in the Super Bowl to be taxable in CA because you earned it here, even though you are not a resident.  

Also apparently their definition of resident is at times creative.  I heard a financial program on the radio this morning as I was driving about with an interesting tidbit in it.  Apparently if you donate money to a CA only charity, say for instance the Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento, the state will declare you to be a resident of CA for tax purposes, or at least try to, and will try very hard to get their cut.  I confess I don't understand how that would work, but the talking head on the radio seemed to know what he was talking about.

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