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Comment by dariopy | Hacker News Reader

CA #1? What are you talking about? The state with the highest tax burden is NY. CA doesn't even make it to the top 10.

https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-bur...

California has the highest income tax rate in the nation which directly impacts entrepreneurs starting a business (if they are successful and create wealth). Why would any sane person want to shave off an extra 13 cents for every dollar they make when they're already losing 40 cents per dollar from the federal government? This is why many entrepreneurs are choosing states with low or no income tax and leaving CA and their hyper-liberal state gov behind.

[http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/12281147/irs-income-t...]

> Why would any sane person want to shave off an extra 13 cents for every dollar they make when they're already losing 40 cents per dollar from the federal government?

The beautiful weather, the beautiful people, the amazing weather, the topographical diversity that allows you to surf and snowboard on the same day, the amazing hikes, the national parks, the ability to bike to work year round. Silicon Valley "manages" to attract a lot of entrepreneurs, but maybe you think they're all insance?

You could eliminate all taxes and I still wouldn't choose to live in Texas or Florida. You could increase my salary 10x and I wouldn't move to Nebraska, the Dakotas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, or Iowa. Then again, you could hire for remote positions if you need devs.

I think you added the wrong link, which I had assumed was a reference to your claim that "many entrepreneurs are choosing states with low or no income tax". It appears to just be a link to Federal tax brackets. Do you have something to actually back up that claim?

I ask because it's very counterintuitive -- entrepreneurs are pretty much never showing much personal income for years since it's all in equity. And by the time they are making that much personal income, they're presumably just as well off as a normal employee with that income.

The only things I ever hear about that incentivize startups to move somewhere are the (a) ecosystem of support (b) availability of low cost facilities and (c) state tax credits or grant award opportunities, such as matching grants with federal SBIR grants.

I have literally never heard an entrepreneur suggest moving to a new state because of personal income taxes. If personal income is high enough that it's a problem, they're probably well enough off that they can afford it regardless of whether they're an entrepreneur or not.

Unless maybe you're talking about how progressive taxes in general do a bad job at the whole variable income thing. I hear lots of complaints about that with regard to personal income taxes from friends who are more contractor/consulting focused. But that's also not a California thing.

Your link doesn't prove anything it's just a federal tax.

The other reply posted a link and California does not have the highest income tax rate, it's 4th.

So from the get go your premise is false.

Also liberal or not you're stating an opinion of why hypothetical companies should do this and that, all the while we still have Silicon Valley and Hollywood in California. So in the face of reality you have not yet successfully prove or convincingly argue that high tax will drive away companies.

You mean, other than the insane people at: Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Oracle, HP, Uber... Clearly some successful entrepreneurs find that the 13 cents to still be worth it to have access to the talent and ecosystem. Perhaps there is something about liberal policies that encourages more successful entrepreneurism. Massachusetts, with best-in-the-nation insurance coverage thanks to RomneyCare also as an outsized tech scene.

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