In the face of staggeringly high tax rates and growing housing costs, people are abandoning San Francisco at such a rate that U-Haul prices have skyrocketed in the area.
The start of the NFL off-season offers an amusing illustration of just how significant the California tax burden is compared to other states. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk notes, when center Daniel Kilgore was traded from the 49ers to the Miami Dolphins, he saw his roster bonus increase by over $300,000 dollars thanks to Florida not having California's 13.5% income tax.
Unfortunately for Kilgore, he won't be quite so lucky with his remaining $2.525 base salary. The majority of states with professional sports teams have what is often referred to as a "jock taxes," where states (and some times cities) steal from the game checks of pro athletes. It was these taxes that actually led to Cam Newton having to pay the State of California for the privilege of losing in Super Bowl 50. While Kilgore will avoid them every time he plays a home game, only one of his 2018 away games (against the Houston Texans) is in a state that doesn't engage in this practice.1
Still, Kilgore was a financial winner thanks to his trade to South Beach. Now whether the extra cash is worth moving from Jimmy Garrapolo to Ryan Tannehill is another matter altogether.
- 1Along with Florida and Texas, Washington and Tennessee are the only other states without these taxes. Nevada will be the fifth, after the Raiders move to their new tax-payer subsidized stadium.
