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Comment by newnewnew | Hacker News Reader

San Francisco needs an income tax. So many people enjoy the benefits of living in SF but pay little for its upkeep.

I moved to SF from Boston. The taxes in California are sky-high compared to most other states. Yet the environment (other than the weather, that is) is significantly worse. One has to wonder where all the public money is going.

A while back, I moved from Huntsville, AL to SF. HSV city sales tax + state sales tax brought the tax on everyday things to 8%. The SF + state sales tax is 9%. For that additional 1%, I get so much more than I got in the Southeast.

CA state income tax rates are up to 7.3% higher than AL's, BUT AL's maximum tax bracket is 5% of any taxable income over $3k. CA's maximum tax bracket is 12.3% of any income over $500k. If you're making $38k (or maybe $48k) or less, you're better off, tax-wise to be in CA. The 6% CA bracket starts at $27,897. [0][1]

[0] http://revenue.alabama.gov/incometax/itfaq01.cfm (Search for "income tax rates")

[1] https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2012_california_tax_rates_and_e... (Search for "tax rate schedules")

San Francisco has double the budget of some states for 600,000 people, do you really think money is the problem? 40% of the city revenue goes to non-profits as it is. The problems the city has is due entirely to mismanagement, incompetence, and a misguided do-gooder populace.

Comparing SF to Wyoming...why its like comparing England to Uganda.

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