Tax Season: Why I loathe paying taxes since moving to CA from the UK
California may be high tax for high income people, but for most middle and low income folks, it is actually pretty cheap.  CA&#x27;s top marginal income tax rate is actually a temporary provision which may or may not be extended when it expires, depending on who the voters elect.<p>&gt; driving away the 1% of households that pay 50% of the taxes in California, worsening the situation for everyone.<p>One big problem is that over the decades the economy has shifted more to services and less to sales of physical goods, so sales tax revenue has declined disproportionately.  We should have a sales tax on services to offset reductions in income tax, which would be much better for creating steady revenue.<p>&gt;this is the only place we’ve lived where it would add an additional $2,000+&#x2F;month expense to keep our family’s healthcare while unemployed.<p>That&#x27;s inaccurate.  If your income is low, you can get subsidized coverage through Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), up to 100%.<p>&gt;government retirement plans like 401(k)s<p>401k is not a &quot;government plan&quot;, it is an employer-sponsored plan.  There is no &quot;retirement age&quot; associated with a 401k or an IRA, for that matter.  You are making a pretty big mistake here by not maxing out your available opportunities to defer taxes.  The tax you pay when  you retire on such contributions is based on where you live at the time, not where you lived when you earned the money.<p>&gt;Lastly, we won’t allow ourselves to be audited without our knowledge by the IRS by using a cloud-based personal finance app that could be subpoenaed behind our backs if they continue pushing for new powers.<p>Paranoid maybe?  Audits are a necessary component of our voluntary reporting system, and you have nothing to fear if you pay what you legitimately owe.  You will absolutely be notified if you are being audited, and get a chance to provide accurate information.  <i>Far</i> more people cheat on their taxes than are unfairly  dunned by the IRS.