Stavan FiroiIIo

@stevenfiorillo @GavinNewsom I share my real-time TRADE alert (entry & exit points) on WhatsApp, free to join ✅ ➡️Copy search input Reply “777” to WhatsApp: +17197579692

@stevenfiorillo @GavinNewsom My strategy plan!！ ⬇️Show more。

There’s been a lot of back and forth about @GavinNewsom claims regarding taxes between Texas and California. People keep asking how that's even possible when Texas has no state income tax. The answer is likely that he's talking about the effective tax rate not just the state income tax line. Governor Newsom claimed that Texas taxes its lowest-earning residents more than California taxes its richest residents, and that the middle class in Texas pays more taxes than the middle class in California. I went through the actual data. He's half-right and half-wrong, and the half he's wrong about is the part that affects the majority of people. I will break it down without being political, and strictly by the numbers. I'm using the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) "Who Pays?" 7th edition published in 2024. To my knowledge this is the only comprehensive analysis of state and local tax systems across all 50 states. It breaks down what families at every income level actually pay as a share of their income across all tax types including income, sales, excise, and property taxes. I can't prove this is where Mr. Newsom is pulling his data from, but it's my assumption, and I wanted to be transparent about my source from the start. One core concept to understand before diving in is the effective tax rate. This is not the rate printed in the tax code. It is the actual percentage of your total income that goes to taxes after every deduction, credit, exemption, and offset is applied across every type of tax you pay. It includes your state income tax, the sales tax on everything you buy, the property tax on your home or the portion passed through to you in higher rent, excise taxes on gas, tobacco, and alcohol, and even the share of business taxes that ultimately get absorbed by consumers, workers, and shareholders. Claim 1: "Texas taxes poor folks more than we tax our richest." My verdict: Governor Newsom is technically correct based on effective tax data in this case but technically isn't the whole story. According to ITEP's data, the bottom 20% of Texas earners pay a total effective state and local tax rate of 12.8% of their income. The top 1% of California earners pay 12.0%. So how can a state with no income tax end up taxing its poorest residents at a higher rate than a state with a 13.3% top income tax bracket charges its richest? The answer lies in what types of taxes each group pays. Texas has no income tax, but revenue has to come from somewhere. The two main revenue generators are sales and property taxes. The ITEP breakdown for the bottom 20% of Texas earners looks like this: sales and excise taxes take 8.1% of income, property taxes including pass-through to renters take 4.5%, and other taxes take 0.2%, for a total of 12.8%. The bottom 20% of Texans earn less than approximately $21,700. At that income level, nearly every dollar goes to rent, food, gas, and basic necessities. Almost everything they spend is subject to sales tax. Their rent includes their landlord's property tax passed through as higher rent. There is no offset, no credit, and no refund to ease the burden. On the other side, California's top 1% of households have an average income of roughly $2.14 million. The ITEP breakdown looks like this: personal and corporate income taxes take 9.2%, sales and excise taxes take 1.0%, property taxes take 1.7%, and other taxes take 0.1%, for a total of 12.0%. The distortion in the effective rate is that their sales and property tax rates as a share of income are very low because they typically save and invest most of their income rather than spending it on taxable goods. So 12.8% is higher than 12.0%. Newsom is technically accurate but there are aspects this claim doesn't tell you. The comparison pairs the absolute bottom of Texas's income distribution against the absolute top of California's income distribution. It is the single most dramatic comparison you can construct from the data, and it was likely designed to provoke outrage rather than inform. It tells you absolutely nothing about how the two systems compare for roughly 80% of residents who are neither the poorest Texans nor the richest Californians. The moment you move one step up the income ladder, the comparison reverses. The second 20% of Texans earning $21,700 to $40,800 pay 11.2%. The middle 20% pay 9.9%. The fourth 20% pay 8.8%. By the time you reach a household earning a median income, Texas's rate has already dropped below California's. The comparison only works at the extremes, and only in one specific direction. Claim 2: "Your middle class pays more taxes in Texas than our middle class in California." My verdict: Governor Newsom is incorrect. This claim falls apart when you look at the actual ITEP data. The middle 20% of Texans with household earnings of roughly $41,000 to $74,000, pay a 9.9% total effective rate. The equivalent group in California pays 10.4%. California is half a percentage point higher. When you look at the fourth quintile, households earning roughly $74,000 to $146,000, which is where the median household income falls in both states, the gap widens significantly. Texas charges 8.8% and California charges 11.0%, a 2.2% difference favoring Texas. There is no income group that can reasonably be classified as middle class where Texas comes out higher than California. The only groups where California is cheaper are the bottom two quintiles, households earning under approximately $48,000, which most people would characterize as working class or lower income, not middle class. California's median household income is approximately $92,000 and Texas's is approximately $80,000. At both of those income levels, you are firmly in the fourth quintile, where the difference favors Texas by roughly 2%. How California achieves a lower rate at the bottom If California has a higher sales tax and higher property taxes for the poorest renters, how does it end up with a lower total rate for its lowest earners? The answer is one line item: tax credits. ITEP's data shows that the bottom 20% of California earners have a personal income tax rate of negative 1.8%. California's refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) and refundable Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC) send more money back to these families than they collect in income tax. The state is making a net payment to its lowest-income residents through the tax code. Texas doesn't have a state income tax, so there is no mechanism to replicate this. When you strip out the income tax line and look only at sales, property, excise, and other taxes, the bottom 20% in California pays approximately 13.3% of their income. In Texas the same group pays 12.8%. Without the refundable credits, California's poorest would actually pay more than their Texas counterparts, not less. The entire advantage at the bottom rests on two specific tax credits that phase out by $32,900. The population math is important to discuss The question that matters is not which system is better in theory, it's how many actual people fall on each side of that crossover line. California's population is approximately 39 million. Quintiles divide the population into equal fifths, giving us roughly 7.8 million people per group. The bottom 40%, roughly 15.6 million Californians earning under $48,000, would pay less under California's tax system. The top 60%, roughly 23.4 million Californians earning above $48,000, would pay less under Texas's tax structure. The savings are not symmetric. A family in the bottom 20% saves roughly $150 per year under California's system. A family earning $110,000 saves roughly $2,400 per year in Texas. A household earning $200,000 saves roughly $7,000 in Texas. At $500,000 the savings in Texas reach roughly $20,000. The residents who benefit from California's system save minimal amounts compared to the majority of residents who pay more under the California tax code. My bottom line Governor Newsom's first claim that Texas taxes its poor more than California taxes its richest is technically correct, but it's a deliberately narrow comparison that pairs the extremes of two different populations and tells you nothing about the experience of most people. His second claim that the middle class pays more in Texas than in California is incorrect. By every measure in ITEP's data, middle-class Texans pay less. At the median household income the difference favors Texas by roughly 2%. The uncomfortable truth is this: California's progressive tax system does benefit its poorest residents, primarily through two narrowly targeted refundable tax credits. But the majority of working Californians, at least 55 to 60% of the population including the entire middle class, pay more under California's system than they would under Texas's. The advantage California provides at the bottom is modest in dollar terms. The additional burden it imposes on everyone else is substantial. I didn't even go down the rabbit hole of the cost of living, and if I did the gap would widen further. None of this is a political argument. It's policy and math. Progressive tax systems make a policy choice to concentrate the burden on upper earners and return money to lower earners. That is a legitimate design. But presenting that design as if it benefits everyone, or as if the only people who gain from Texas's system are the richest of the rich, is not supported by the numbers. The data shows the opposite. The majority pays more in California.

Growth isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being present for the messy, beautiful steps that lead you closer to you.

Just crossed off the final task—high-five to the team, and here’s to what’s next!

Refreshing Watermelon Mint Cooler 1. Blend 2 cups seedless watermelon + 5 mint leaves + 1 tsp lime juice. 2. Strain (optional) for smoothness. 3. Top with ice + a mint sprig. Beat the heat—no sugar needed!

"Today’s vibe: sun on skin, iced coffee in hand, and zero rush. Grateful for these small, warm moments "

"Savor the zesty kick of Thai Green Curry! Creamy coconut milk, fresh basil, tender veggies—every bite’s a tropical escape. #ThaiCuisine #FoodieJoy"

"Teamwork makes the dream work! Whether brainstorming, problem-solving, or celebrating wins—every voice matters. Tag your crew who turns ideas into reality! #CollabGoals #TeamSpirit"

Sunny afternoon, iced coffee + a good book = perfect lazy day vibes

"Just bit into a sun-warmed peach—juice dripping down my wrist, sweet as summer. #FoodMoments #SummerBites"

Cozy Sunday with my favorite humans—pancakes, board games, and no alarms. Perfect chaos.

"Turn old coffee cans into cute plant pots! Grab paint, stickers u0026 soil—10 mins = cozy desk decor. Tag a friend who needs this easy DIY! #Upcycle #DIYHome"

Sunshine, snacks u0026 silly grins—perfect Sunday with my favorite crew

Growth isn’t about being perfect overnight—it’s about showing up, even when it’s messy, and choosing to learn one more time.

Turn an old glass jar into a chic herb planter! Clean, add soil, plant seeds—your kitchen gets a fresh, green glow. Eco-friendly u0026 budget-friendly, just 5 mins! #UpcycleHacks #DIYHome