Why is Arizona so cheap compared to California (Yuma, Prescott: car registration, house)

[elkotronics]

Si - si -si - si. Language translation: Yes - yes - yes - yes!

[Quirinius324]

Originally Posted by jgustav

In trying to compare Arizona and California taxes on a household, it would be better to include gas tax as well, which isn't even close given that CA has the highest gas tax in the country. Sales tax is difficult to determine in AZ since the state sales tax is only 5.6% but allows additional local sales tax of up to 5.3% in some areas. You have to look at how much you pay in AZ by looking at the local city and county taxes.

Arizona also has a capital gain exclusion which is not available in CA, all income is taxed at the same marginal rate for the taxable income bracket you are in. This does benefit people toward the top of the income scale who are more likely to have stocks, mutual funds and business transactions that may trigger capital gains.

California does tax their wealthy residents more than the rest of the population through higher marginal rates, it is part of the redistribution of wealth mentality that is present in deep blue states. CA may possibly have some advantages in taxation versus some other left leaning states like NY or NJ that have some of the highest property taxes in the country, but I can't see a case for it offering a better tax environment that AZ. The only exception to this could be for some family that it is at the very lowest income level reaching the new CA earned income tax credit which is refundable.

The actual collections per capita of sales tax in AZ ($1323) is greater than that in CA ($1082), even though the median wage is higher in CA. Map: State and Local General Sales Tax Collections Per Capita | Tax Foundation. The gas tax differential is about $.20/gallon. The income tax is roughly the same up until you hit six figures. In CA, you have to make nearly $25,000 as family of four before you start paying income tax. That contributes to a lower effective tax rate for middle class workers.

On the other hand, property taxes are somewhat higher in CA: 3-4% median in Southern California, and 2.3% in Maricopa County. Median Effective Property Tax Rates By County, Ranked by Taxes as a Percentage of Household Income, 1-Year Average, 2010 | Tax Foundation

[jgustav]

Originally Posted by Quirinius324

The actual collections per capita of sales tax in AZ ($1323) is greater than that in CA ($1082), even though the median wage is higher in CA. Map: State and Local General Sales Tax Collections Per Capita | Tax Foundation. The gas tax differential is about $.20/gallon. The income tax is roughly the same up until you hit six figures. In CA, you have to make nearly $25,000 as family of four before you start paying income tax. That contributes to a lower effective tax rate for middle class workers.

On the other hand, property taxes are somewhat higher in CA: 3-4% median in Southern California, and 2.3% in Maricopa County. Median Effective Property Tax Rates By County, Ranked by Taxes as a Percentage of Household Income, 1-Year Average, 2010 | Tax Foundation

The link you provided for sales tax is from 2012, there have been changes made in CA to increase this by another 1/4 percent through CA prop 30 passed in November 2012. Not sure if AZ has had any similar state wide increase since 2012. CA varies somewhat by what county someone lives in, currently LA county was set to 9% in 2015.


Los Angeles County, CA Sales Tax Rate


The marginal tax rates for single and MFJ status for both states are shown below, both significantly higher in CA from 50,000 to 100,000 taxable income rates.


AZ
Arizona Income Tax Brackets 2016


CA
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2015_Ca...emptions.shtml


With Obamacare, many individuals are now contributing to an HSA - health savings account with pretax money if they have a high deductible health plan through work or through one of the exchanges. The accounts can be used to pay for out of pocket medical expenses. For 2015, the maximum contribution amount for someone single and under 55 is 3,350. The maximum contribution amount for married filing joint amount is 6,650. CA is one of a handful of states that requires this HSA contribution amount be added back to a return before determining taxable income. AZ residents don't need to do this. Below is a link providing information on HSAs.


http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/...-accounts.aspx

[TheGoodUsernamesWereTaken]

Originally Posted by Bruce81

It's all about location. I used to live in AZ and do not miss it at all. Yes I do miss the nicer freeways, the grid system of Phoenix and how easy it is to get around the city but you just cannot compare how life changes when you live in California. I do live inland in an area that is much less attractive than Phoenix lol, but within an hour I can be on the beach, high desert, ski resorts, universal studios, Disneyland, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Knotts berry farm, six flags, I could go on and on. Weekends in AZ if you stay in town it's either, hiking, the mall or some festival going on. You can only visit Sedona and the Grand Canyon so much. I do believe it's worth the cost, the smog, the traffic but as soon as I see that coast I know it's worth it to live in California.

And do you actually do any of those things with frequency?

As someone who lived in SF up until recently, I went to wine country once every few years, went to Tahoe once, and couldn't afford Warriors, Giants, or Niners tickets with regularity. I don't surf, I don't fish. Hard to do much when most of your income goes to ridiculously high taxes and rent.

Many people like to talk about all there is to do in Cali but I don't know many people who can afford it without major sacrifices (in other words you can cope with the fact that the quality of life isn't what you thought) and the people I know who are wealthy don't do much of that either. They go to wine country more frequently but also travel out of state often.

[singlegirlinaz]

Arizona isn't cheap anymore but still less expensive than California.

Why do people like to dig up these old threads from the grave?

[Ex New Yorker]

Originally Posted by autism360

All the liberal states have high costs of living because they are quick to give taxpayer money to fund all types of welfare programs for legal and illegals. The problem with liberalism is eventually you run out of other peoples money to spend so you have to continue to tax the working class and eventually they leave the state.

Taxpayers Fleeing Democrat-Run States for Republican Ones



https://www.atr.org/taxpayers-fleein...epublican-ones

Quote:
Top 5 loser states for Democrat governors in 2013:

· New York (114,929 people with $5.7 billion in AGI)

· Illinois (68,943 people with $3.8 billion in AGI)

· California (47,458 people with 3.8 billion in AGI)

· Connecticut (14,453 people with $1.8 billion in AGI)

· Massachusetts (11,915 people with $1 billion in AGI)

Top 5 winner states for Republican governors in 2013:

· Texas (152,912 people with $6 billion in AGI)

· Florida (74,094 people with 8.3 billion in AGI)

· South Carolina (29,176 people with 1.6 billion in AGI)

· North Carolina (26,207 people with $1.5 billion in AGI)

· Arizona (16,549 people with $1.5 billion in AGI)

In 2013, more than 200,000 people on net fled states with Democrat governors for ones run by Republicans, according to an analysis of newly released IRS data by Americans for Tax Reform.
"People move away from high tax states to low tax states. Every tax refugee is sending a powerful message to politicians," said ATR President Grover Norquist. "They are voting with their feet. Leaders in Texas and Florida are listening. New York and California are not."
That year, Democrat-run states lost a net 226,763 taxpayers, bringing with them nearly $15.7 billion in adjusted gross income (AGI). That same year, states with Republican governors gained nearly 220,000 new taxpayers, who brought more than $14.1 billion in AGI with them.

[Suesbal]

How much is land worth that has no easy access to water?

[john3232]

Maricopa County leads nation in population increase, surpasses 4.5 million
https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/m...million,381656

[fengxg]

Every state is cheap comparing to California, so why would Arizona be different? Arizona is a normal state and California isn't. So the right question should be why is California so much more expensive than other states, and the answer has nothing to do with Arizona.

[WiringGuru2]

Haha my ass Arizona is "cheap". Thirty years ago it was cheap. Ten years ago it was reasonable. Now it's California or even worse depending on how you calculate it (wages vs taxes, cost of living).