Newsom’s Tax Delusion: California a ‘Lower Tax State’ Than Texas or Florida? Pull the Other One, Gavin

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Folks, Gavin Newsom just stood up at South by Southwest on March 16, 2026, and flat-out lied through his teeth. California, he claimed, is a lower-tax state than Texas or Florida—especially for the middle class and working folks. Texas “taxes poor folks more than we tax our richest,” he sneered. Florida’s the same “regressive” mess. Your middle class pays more in those states than in the Golden State, according to this clown. It’s the kind of whopper only a coastal elitist could peddle while his state bleeds residents like a stuck pig. Reality check: California isn’t lower-tax anything. It’s a high-tax nightmare crushing families, businesses, and dreams while Texas and Florida keep it simple and let people keep more of their own money.

The Numbers Don’t Lie—California’s the Real Tax Beast

Look at the total state and local tax burden as a share of personal income. California clocks in at 11 percent—one of the highest in the country. Texas sits at 7.77 percent. Florida? A measly 6.49 percent. That’s not close. That’s California sucking 40 to 70 percent more out of your pocket every year just in combined state and local grabs.

Per capita? California rakes in $10,319 per resident in state and local taxes. Texas pulls $5,469. Florida grabs $4,914. Nearly double or more. Californians fork over twice what Floridians do, yet Newsom wants you to believe his swamp is the bargain basement.

Break it down further and the picture gets uglier. California slams you with a top individual income tax rate of 13.3 percent—highest in America—plus a mental health surcharge pushing the effective bite even higher on big earners. Texas and Florida? Zero state income tax. Nada. Zilch. That alone saves middle-class families thousands every year in no-income-tax states.

Sales taxes? California’s base 7.25 percent plus local add-ons can hit 10 percent or more in many spots. Texas averages around 8.2 percent combined, Florida about 7 percent. Property taxes tell the same story: Texas effective rate around 1.58 percent, but no income tax offsets it for most. California hides behind Proposition 13 caps, yet sky-high home prices and other levies still leave families paying through the nose overall.

Gas taxes, business taxes, fees—California leads the pack in pain. The 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index ranks California dead last at 48th. Texas comes in 7th, Florida 5th. Those rankings measure how well states let you keep what you earn and grow. California fails spectacularly.

Newsom’s Cherry-Pick Trick: Focusing on the Bottom While Ignoring the Crush

Here’s the sleight of hand. Newsom loves citing data showing that for the bottom 40 percent of families, California’s effective tax rate looks lower than Texas or Florida. He calls those states “regressive” because sales and property taxes hit lower earners harder as a percentage when there’s no income tax to soak the rich. Sure, in a narrow slice for the poorest, California’s progressive system and credits mean they pay a smaller share than in no-income-tax places.

But that’s a rigged game. It ignores the middle class entirely—where California’s income tax kicks in at 4 to 9 percent for typical households, piling on top of everything else. Families earning $100,000 to $200,000 in California get hammered far harder than their counterparts in Texas or Florida, who skip the income tax bite and enjoy lower overall burdens. Newsom’s “middle class pays more in Texas” line? Pure fiction. The data shows the opposite for anyone above the poverty line.

And forget the rich fleeing to avoid California’s top rates—Newsom admits his system targets them but pretends that’s fairness. The result? The state still collects more total revenue per person while driving out the productive. That’s not progressive; that’s parasitic.

The Exodus That Exposes the Lie

If California were really the lower-tax paradise Newsom claims, why are people—and billionaires—bolting for Texas and Florida? Travis Kalanick, Uber founder, just announced his move to Texas ahead of proposed wealth taxes. Companies and workers have been streaming out for years, taking jobs, investment, and tax base with them. Housing prices crater in California while Texas booms. Florida’s population surges. People vote with their feet, and the feet are running from Newsom’s tax hell.

Even middle-class families see it: no state income tax in Texas or Florida means more take-home pay for mortgages, groceries, and kids’ futures. California’s “progressive” miracle leaves everyone—except the political class—worse off.

America First Reality: Time to Stop the Grift and Let States Compete

This isn’t complicated. California isn’t a lower-tax state by any honest measure. It’s higher—dramatically so—on total burden, per capita extraction, competitiveness, and what actually hits working and middle-class families. Newsom’s claim is the desperate spin of a failing governor watching his state empty out while Texas and Florida thrive without the nanny-state overhead.

From an America First view, this proves why we need less federal meddling and more state competition. Let people and businesses move to low-tax winners like Texas and Florida. Stop subsidizing high-tax losers with federal dollars. Cut the regulations, slash the spending, and watch real growth explode where taxes don’t eat your lunch. Newsom can keep lying to Austin crowds. The rest of us see the scoreboard: California loses, freedom wins. Move to a real low-tax state or demand your leaders stop the theft. That’s how America stays strong.