Citing a desire to “restore the California Dream for all,” a Republican candidate in the 2026 race to become California’s next governor says he’d eliminate the state’s income tax if elected.
In a video posted to X, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said that he and his team would “work immediately” on abolishing the income tax for all Californians.
“I believe that our hard workers in California could spend their money far better more than our current government,” Bianco said.
Bianco launched his campaign last month. Since then, he’s ran on the concept that California is “over taxed and over regulated,” leading to thousands of people and businesses leaving the state.
As of 2025, the California income tax rate is as high as 12.3% for married couples making $1,442,628 and over, according to H&R Block. It’s 6% for married couples making between $80,490 – $111,732, as the median household income was about $96,000 as of 2023, according to the U.S. Census.
Bianco blames that high rate for the so-called “California Exodus,” as the state loses hundreds of thousands of residents to other states.
“Over the last year and a half or so, I’ve watched most of my friends sell their businesses, stop working altogether, retire early, move to other states, and it’s usually always for the same reason,” Bianco said. “What a better way to bring all of my friends back, all of the businesses back that have left than to eliminate California’s income tax.”
Nine states—Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming—essentially don’t have state income taxes, although these states typically make up the difference in other ways, like higher sales, property, or gasoline taxes.
Bianco is an avid supporter of President Donald Trump, who himself is ushering in an unconventional tax plan focused on levying tariffs on foreign nations while cutting tax rates for some Americans.
Read more on Bianco’s tax and affordability plan on his campaign website.