Tag Archives: exit tax

Not Even Remotely Surprising

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California has increased taxes many times to try to balance its budget. If the people who live there are willing to put up with that, that’s fine. However, trying to collect taxes from people who no longer live there is questionable at best.

On Monday, Just The News reported:

According to documents posted online by a family who formerly lived in California, the Golden State is trying to collect income taxes years after the family moved to Florida.

The documents, sent on Jan. 6, 2026, asked for receipts, invoices, canceled checks and other documentation showing that the family moved from California to Florida nearly four years ago. The California Franchise Tax Board, which sent the letter, also asked the family for a “narrative of the circumstances” surrounding the family’s move out of state.

Hari Raghavan, who with his wife, Mitali Gala, was the subject of the investigation by the California Franchise Tax Board, said he and Gala moved from California to Florida in 2021. They tried to sell the home they owned in California when they moved, but weren’t able to do so immediately, Raghavan told The Center Square.

“That spilled into 2022, but it was by no definition a primary residence anymore,” Raghavan said about the California home. “We moved to Florida to establish residency in 2021.”

New Jersey actually does have an Exit Tax. For example, if you sell a house in New Jersey for $800,000 (that you bought years ago for $200,000), you could owe as much as $15,000 in Exit Tax. I think this is taxation without representation, but as far as I know, it  has not been challenged in court.

The article at Just The News notes:

In an emailed statement to The Center Square, the Franchise Tax Board said individual tax records are confidential and information about one individual or family’s tax records can’t be shared. Investigations that determine if someone owes taxes can be lengthy, officials said.

“FTB’s audit program serves as the compliance mechanism for administering California’s tax code,” Andrew LePage, an official with the Franchise Tax Board, wrote to The Center Square via email. “A residency audit determines if an individual is a resident, non-resident, or part-year resident for tax purposes. Residency audits take about 18 – 24 months to complete, depending on a wide range of variables.”

Those who live in and receive income in California for at least nine months out of the year owe personal income taxes to the state, LePage told The Center Square via email. Officials also told The Center Square that the board doesn’t share its criteria for when to conduct a residency audit.

Officials with the Franchise Tax Board would not make anyone from the agency available for an interview with The Center Square.

Moving forward, Raghavan and Gala are assembling a response with their accountant, Raghavan said.

While he believes in everyone paying their fair share of taxes, he’s found much of the experience with the agency off-putting, Raghavan told The Center Square.

“My issue is with how they go about it,” Raghavan said. “I can’t truly say they have been unreasonable with us, with one exception. I can’t believe they would ask someone for their moving inventory list. Who maintains that?”

It is easy to understand why people are leaving some of our blue states.

Things Are Changing

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On Friday, Breitbart reported that Garfield New Jersey Mayor Everett E. Garnto, Jr. will be leaving the Democrat Party and endorsing Republican Jack Ciattarelli for governor.

The article reports:

The announcement came during Ciattarelli’s Garfield Rally. Michael Casey, New Jersey State Director for Early Vote Action, reported on X that the rally was “standing room only as hundreds of Garfield residents were in attendance,” calling it a “MAJOR endorsement for @Jack4NJ in a city that has been a longtime Democrat stronghold.”

Garnto, a retired Garfield police officer who served 29 years on the force and 12 years as president of the local Police Benevolent Association, was elected to the city council in November 2024 as a Democrat. He later became mayor after his colleagues selected him for the position. The lifelong resident also served as a school board member and vice chair of the Garfield Housing Authority before winning elected office.

The party switch carries weight in Garfield, home to more than 30,000 residents and the fifth-largest municipality in Bergen County. Although Murphy narrowly carried the city by just over 150 votes in 2021, Donald Trump won Garfield by nearly nine points in 2024. Local voter registration trends and Garnto’s own admission that he supported Trump in the last presidential election underscore the city’s shifting political climate.

The article concludes:

Addressing attendees on Thursday, Ciattarelli said Democrats joining his effort demonstrates that voters across the political spectrum are dissatisfied with the state’s leadership. “It’s not just Republicans who are crying out for change,” Ciattarelli remarked. “It’s unaffiliated, independent voters and yes, even moderate Democrats who’ve come to the realization that this current administration has failed.” He added that his campaign’s focus remains on “getting up and down this state” to present voters with a vision for lowering costs and restoring affordability.

Aside for the high taxes, high cost of living, and congestion, New Jersey residents who leave the state have to pay a tax on the sale of their home. If they are not buying another house in New Jersey, they have to pay an exit tax. It is definitely time for a change.