CALIFORNIA TRIES TO COUNTERACT RESIDENTS FLEEING INCREASED TAXES

◼ After California residents voted to increase taxes via Proposition 30, state revenues have decreased, and residents and businesses are leaving to avoid burdensome taxes and regulations. - Tony Lee/Breitbart

However, as Forbes notes, “leaving” California “is not always easy”; the state considers anyone in the state for anything other than a temporary or transitory purpose as a resident.

The burden is on the taxpayer to show they are not a Californian. The state presumes anyone who has been in California for at least nine months is a resident.

It “usually takes 18 months” for someone to no longer be presumed a resident, which can make it difficult for people who flee the state to convince the state government they are no longer California residents.

California considers someone’s “days inside and outside the state," bank accounts, and where someone’s social, religious, professional and other organizations are located in determining whether an individual is no longer a Californian.

◼ Fleeing California Taxes? Get In Line - Robert W. Wood/Forbes

After all, leaving is not always easy. A California resident is anyone in the state for other than a temporary or transitory purpose. ◼ See FTB Publication 1031. Guidelines for Determining Resident Status (PDF) Plus, it includes anyone domiciled in California who is outside the state for a temporary or transitory purpose. The burden is on you to show you’re not a Californian. If you’re in California for more than 9 months, you are presumed a resident.

...Your domicile is your true, fixed permanent home, the place where you intend to return even when you’re gone. You can have only one domicile, but many facts are relevant. Start with where you are employed and where you own a home....

If you own several, compare size and value. Consider your homeowner’s property tax exemption, where your spouse and children reside, etc. Your days inside and outside the state are important, as is the purpose of your travels. Where do you have bank accounts and belong to social, religious, professional and other organizations?

Voter registration, vehicle registration and driver’s licenses count. Where you own or operate businesses counts, as does the relative income and time you devote to them. You can own investments far and wide, but you can expect them to be compared.

Many of these points may not be too significant on their own. Yet they can have a cumulative effect. California is likely to pursue you and probe how and when you stopped being a resident. Get some legal advice and plan carefully.