After Tax Increase, Wealthy Californians Left The State

CALIFORNIA -- A 2012 tax increase may be the reason why California millionaires have left the Golden State in recent days. The San Francisco Chronicle reported a working study showed "California lost a very small but statistically significant percentage of high-income residents."

The move came after state voters approved Proposition 30, which raised various taxes including the sales tax from 7.25 to 7.5 percent. The measure also changed high-income tax brackets, making those who earn between $250,000 to $300,000, pay 10.3 percent.

Citing a working paper by the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, the Chronicle reported "the state lost an estimated 138 high-income individuals, or about 0.04 percent of the roughly 312,000 people subject to the tax increase."

"The millionaire population is highly correlated to the financial markets," the Chronicle reported. "The researchers found that the median person who earned at least $1 million in a given year earned at least $1 million in only seven of the 13 years before and after that year."

Read the full Chronicle story here.