Newsom renews claim that Texas, Florida are ‘high-tax’ states, critics oppose draft
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend renewed his claim that Florida and Texas are “high-tax states,” arguing that low- and middle-income residents in those states bear a heavier tax burden than their counterparts in the Golden State.
Speaking on stage at SXSW in Austin, Texas, the Democratic governor framed the issue morally.
“We have the most progressive tax rate in America. Texas, which is very regressive. Texas taxes the poorest people more than our rich. Your question is which is the highest tax state? California or Texas? Who do you belong to? Do you belong to the 1% or do you belong to the 98%?” Newsom said, before taking a shot at Florida, he called it “another low tax state.”
“Your middle class pays more taxes in Texas than our middle class in California,” Newsom said. “It’s a big myth – it’s just that the rich get rich because they can avoid paying a penny.”
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Gavin Newsom speaks on stage during the “Networth And Chill” featured session during the 2026 SXSW Conference and Festival at the Hilton Austin on March 15, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Julia Beverly/WireImage/Getty Images)
The comments backfired online, with RealClearPolitics founder Tom Bevan calling Newsom’s claim a “blatant, proven lie.”
He shared a Wallethub 2025 analysis that ranks US states by overall tax burden, with California coming in fourth, behind Vermont, New York and Hawaii.
The governor, who has made similar arguments before, appeared to be referring to a study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which ranked Florida as the most regressive tax system in the country and state and Texas as the seventh most regressive.
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ITEP’s analysis focuses on how tax burdens are distributed across income groups rather than overall tax rates. The group argues that states like Texas and Florida are seen as “low-tax” mainly because they don’t charge a base personal income tax — a structure that disproportionately benefits high earners.
To make up the difference, those districts rely heavily on sales, taxes and property taxes, which tend to take a large share of income from low-income households. California, in contrast, uses a progressive income tax system that puts more of a burden on high earners and helps reduce regressive taxes down the income ladder.
Vivian Tu, left, and Gavin Newsom speak on stage during “Networth And Chill With Guest Governor Gavin Newsom” at the 2026 SXSW Conference And Festival at the Hilton Austin on March 15, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Gary Miller/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Critics, however, say the framing captures only part of the picture because it focuses on the tax burden by income groups instead of the overall tax climate — where California remains the biggest burden for high earners, investors and many businesses.
California has the highest income tax rate in the nation at 13.3%, while Texas and Florida have no state income tax. On a per capita basis, California also collects more state and local taxes than any other state, according to data from the Tax Foundation.
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The debate comes as California has seen continued immigration in recent years, while Texas and Florida have attracted new residents and businesses, according to US Census Bureau data.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has repeatedly clashed with Newsom over the merits of red-and-green state governance, scoffed at the Democrat’s comments on X.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a college sports roundtable discussion in the East Room of the White House on March 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photos by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“There are lies, damn lies and statistics. Then there’s whatever you might call the claim that California has lower taxes than Florida,” DeSantis wrote, retweeting Bevan. “Even people who like California governance agree that CA is the highest tax state: the highest sales, income and gas taxes in the nation.”
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FOX Business has reached out to Newsom’s office, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Tax Foundation for further comment.
