‘Trojan Horse’: California’s Top 1% Pay Nearly Half the State’s Income Taxes. Prop 40 Opponents Warn the Billionaire Tax Could Reach Everyone Else
10th October 2026
Fortune, a Voice of the Crust.
Which is what it is intended to do. Duh. Democrat hunger to spend other people’s money is insatiable.
California’s revenue is notoriously top heavy, leaving state coffers vulnerable to boom-and-bust cycles as the wealthiest residents see their incomes rise and fall with the stock market.
In recent years, the top 1% of California households have accounted for about 40% to 50% of all personal income tax revenue, according to the conservative Hoover Institution.
In fact, the top 1% paid more than $60 billion in California personal income taxes in 2021, when the stock market soared. The flip side is that the state suffers crippling deficits when the market tanks, as during the Global Financial Crisis.