---

 [ IMPORTANT READS ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=9)

#  Tax Day: Many In Financial Straits

TAX DAY - Today, as millions of Californians rush to [file their tax returns](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=9618320f8f&e=be99ddd110) and [apply for tax credits](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=cb08f26fc5&e=be99ddd110), state lawmakers are returning to Sacramento from [an 11-day spring recess](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=5cdb2bc5cb&e=be99ddd110) — and preparing to resume negotiations over [the best way to put money back in residents’ pockets](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=794d07f711&e=be99ddd110).

Written by Emily Hoeven.

April 18 2022

<a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a><a class="a2a_button_print"></a>[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)

 [Comments](#disqus_thread)

TAX DAY - Today, as millions of Californians rush to [file their tax returns](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=9618320f8f&e=be99ddd110) and [apply for tax credits](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=cb08f26fc5&e=be99ddd110), state lawmakers are returning to Sacramento from [an 11-day spring recess](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=5cdb2bc5cb&e=be99ddd110) — and preparing to resume negotiations over [the best way to put money back in residents’ pockets](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=794d07f711&e=be99ddd110).

The two events are interrelated: The amount of tax revenue collected by the state will help determine the size, form and scope of the financial relief on which Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators finally settle.

But Tax Day is also a reminder of the staggering divide between California’s haves and have-nots, which [the state’s progressive tax structure brings out in stark relief](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=63466d5e24&e=be99ddd110): In 2019, the fewer than 100,000 Californians who earned at least $1 million paid about 40% of the state’s personal income taxes, [according to data obtained by the Los Angeles Times](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=ec70ca4e99&e=be99ddd110).

- By contrast, 77% of Californians who filed income tax returns that year reported an income of less than $100,000 — and 50% reported earnings below $50,000.

The financial precarity many Californians experience was highlighted in [a new poll](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=56ad7e1669&e=be99ddd110) from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles Times:

- **64% of California voters said they pay too much in state and federal income taxes,** up 10 percentage points from six years ago.
- **42% of voters said they’re financially worse off than they were a year ago,** double the 21% who said they were better off — the opposite of 2016, when about 48% of voters said they were financially better off than they were the prior year, nearly double the 25% who reported they were doing worse.

And even as California’s tight labor market helps some workers score higher wages — unions representing 47,000 grocery workers [ratified a new contract Thursday](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=139fa6b932&e=be99ddd110) that includes their biggest pay raises in decades — a whopping [8.5% year-over-year rise](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=48a6c21b9b&e=be99ddd110) in the cost of goods is eating into those gains.

- Unions representing workers ranging from [classified employees in San Ysidro School District](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=3451804936&e=be99ddd110) to [California State University faculty](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=011ae0e0ac&e=be99ddd110) say their wage increases don’t cover the cost of inflation.
- Meanwhile, more than 8,000 Sutter Health employees are set to strike at more than a dozen Northern California facilities today to [call for better health and safety standards](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=4f4de6eb85&e=be99ddd110).

Soaring inflation rates will make it harder for California to keep up the job gains it saw in March, said Michael Bernick, a former director of the state Employment Development Department and an attorney at Duane Morris.

- The state’s jobless rate fell to 4.9% in March — down from [a revised rate of 5.3% in February](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=a182dcc420&e=be99ddd110) — as the state added 60,200 nonfarm payroll jobs, [EDD announced Friday](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=478b7ab660&e=be99ddd110).
- **[Newsom](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=535b8fb258&e=be99ddd110):** EDD’s report “is more good news for California’s continued economic recovery, representing thousands of new opportunities for workers throughout the state.”
- **[Bernick](https://calmatters.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5f4af3af825368013c58e4547&id=2006de8dc9&e=be99ddd110):** “We’re likely to see a far greater slowdown in job growth throughout 2022 as the impacts of inflationary government spending begin to be felt.”

*(Emily Hoeven is a writer for CalMatters, where this article was featured.)*

[![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/ME%20DENTAL%20SPA/me%20dental%202026%20final.jpg)](http://medentalspa.com/)

 ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png)

## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays &amp; Thursdays

 Email

 [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)")

 [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2")

 ---

##  Featured CityWatch Stories

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/fd/064h-fdb0b507.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12)

### [Remembering Ken Draper: CityWatch and Transparency Are his Legacy](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12)

LA WATCHDOG - Ken Draper, the editor and publisher of CityWatch for more than 20 years, passed away on August 8, 2022…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/0f/061a-0f1ada2f.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398)

### [Brace Yourself For A Worse Housing Crisis](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398)

PLANNING WATCH - The California State Legislature will soon vote on the following draft legislation. Please carefully…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/54/064j-54f0ecbd.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33204:be-prepared-to-protect-our-democracy-in-november-from-a-trumpian-plot&catid=9)

### [Be Prepared to Protect Our Democracy in November From a Trumpian Plot](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33204:be-prepared-to-protect-our-democracy-in-november-from-a-trumpian-plot&catid=9)

BE AWARE - Back in the days when conservatives were so hungry for media platforms that they’d come on progressive shows…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/ab/063e-ab3b1ba1.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33174:nithya-raman-loses-the-homelessness-gavel-her-record-explains-why&catid=396)

### [Nithya Raman Loses the Homelessness Gavel — Her Record Explains Why](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33174:nithya-raman-loses-the-homelessness-gavel-her-record-explains-why&catid=396)

THE BOTTOM LINE - Raman wants Los Angeles voters to promote her to mayor. Before handing her the keys to City Hall, v…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/75/064a-75d5dbb3.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33199:your-boss-owns-your-workday-not-your-brain&catid=425)

### [Your Boss Owns Your Workday—Not Your Brain](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33199:your-boss-owns-your-workday-not-your-brain&catid=425)

THE NEURAL WORKPLACE - California must protect workers before workplace surveillance crosses the final frontier: the hu…

---

##  [ IMPORTANT READS ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=9)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Aug-2026/064m3.jpeg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33192:should-unsafe-property-conditions-lead-to-injury-claims&catid=9)### [Should Unsafe Property Conditions Lead to Injury Claims?](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33192:should-unsafe-property-conditions-lead-to-injury-claims&catid=9)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Aug-2026/061q.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33155:how-electrical-hazards-put-workers-at-risk&catid=9)### [How Electrical Hazards Put Workers at Risk](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33155:how-electrical-hazards-put-workers-at-risk&catid=9)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2026/058i.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33091:metro-doesnt-have-a-transit-problem-it-has-a-leadership-problem&catid=9)### [Metro Doesn't Have a Transit Problem—It Has a Leadership Problem](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33091:metro-doesnt-have-a-transit-problem-it-has-a-leadership-problem&catid=9)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2026/060o.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33139:wrongful-death-claims-after-a-serious-accident-and-what-families-need-to-know&catid=9)### [Wrongful Death Claims After a Serious Accident and What Families Need to Know](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33139:wrongful-death-claims-after-a-serious-accident-and-what-families-need-to-know&catid=9)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2026/059s.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33123:the-real-downsides-of-heat-pump-water-heaters-nobody-mentions&catid=9)### [The Real Downsides of Heat Pump Water Heaters Nobody Mentions](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33123:the-real-downsides-of-heat-pump-water-heaters-nobody-mentions&catid=9)
<div data-id="1" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-emailform eb-1 eboxContentLocker"
	data-options='{"trigger":"onPageLoad","trigger_selector":"","delay":3000,"early_trigger":true,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":1,"reverse_scroll_close":true,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":10000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"slideInDown","animation_close":"fadeOutDown","animation_duration":400,"disable_page_scroll":true,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #1 - Global Email Signup Form","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog eb-formVer" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog1" aria-label="dialog1">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<form action="https://citywatchla.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=34d69f33624fd058ee9b56516&amp;id=4bfa422f51&amp;f_id=00d6c2e1f0" class="eb" method="post" id="mcform-1" name="mcform-1" target="_blank">
			<div class="eb-form-header"><p><img src="/images/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png" alt="be a city watcher" width="350" height="97" loading="lazy" data-path="local-images:/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png"></p>
<p>Sign up to receive our special e-news blasts on Monday and Thursday evenings!</p></div>
	
					<div class="eb-field-row">

			
			
			
			<input class="eb-input" type="email" name="EMAIL"  placeholder="Email address"  id="EMAIL" value="" required>

			
		</div>
										
	<div class="eb-footer">
    	<button class="eb-btn" type="submit" name="subscribe" style="background-color:rgba(93, 183, 93, 1);color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)">
    		Sign up    	</button>
    </div>
</form>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>
<div data-id="3" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-yesno eb-3 "
	data-options='{"trigger":"onScrollDepth","trigger_selector":"","delay":0,"early_trigger":false,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":2,"reverse_scroll_close":false,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":1000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"fadeInUp","animation_close":"fadeOut","animation_duration":300,"disable_page_scroll":false,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #3 - Yes \/ No Donation Popup Box","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog " role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog3" aria-label="dialog3">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<div class="ebox-yes-no">
	<div class="ebox-yn-text">
		
		
		<div class="ebox-yn-headline" style="font-size:22px;color:#888888">
			<p>If you only give once a month, would you consider giving to CityWatch?</p>
<p>Your support fuels our mission to promote and facilitate civic engagement and neighborhood empowerment, and to hold area government and its politicians accountable.</p>
<p>Would you like to help? Even if you can only give $5, it will make a difference.</p>		</div>
			</div>
	
	<div class="ebox-ys-buttons" style="font-size: 16px;">
		
<a
					data-ebox-prevent="0"
		data-ebox-cmd="close"
				target="_self"
		href="https://www.citywatchla.com/donate"
		rel="noopener"
	
	
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#2ec664;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Yes
	</a>
<a
	
	
			data-ebox-cmd="close"
		href="#"
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#ef2345;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Not Right Now
	</a>	</div>

	</div>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>