Comedian Bill Maher took aim at California’s heavy tax load during a recent episode of his podcast “Club Random,” claiming that the state collects more from businesses than some drug dealers do. He noted, “It’s almost impossible to run a successful business like that in California,” pointing out that the state takes a hefty 40 percent in taxes. “When I bought drugs from an unscrupulous dealer, he didn’t skim off 40 percent.”
Maher humorously added that back when he was selling marijuana, he never saw taxes that high. “It’s like me buying a pound and then getting 17 ounces back. Sure, it’s not exactly 40 percent, but the state’s worse than the dealers,” he remarked.
To be fair, California’s corporate tax rate is among the highest in the nation at 8.84 percent, but that doesn’t factor in additional federal tax rates and various corporate fees, which complicate things. During the podcast, guest Jack Whitehall joked that the high taxes are pushing business owners to look into new ventures like gardening or tea rooms just to make ends meet.
Maher has criticized excessive taxation before, notably targeting politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders and expressing frustration over wealthy individuals not pulling their weight in taxes. He mentioned, “Last week was Tax Day… When you add in state taxes, local taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and fees, I paid nearly 60% of my income.” He expressed concern that while extremely rich individuals might exploit loopholes, regular wealthy people still shoulder a significant tax burden.
In the past, he also called out Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her “tax the rich” dress at the Met Gala, stating, “It’s not like we don’t tax the wealthy at all. I’m all for reducing income inequality, but let’s stop pretending that the rich don’t pay taxes.” Maher acknowledged that while the capitalist system has its flaws, it’s important to keep the discussion grounded in reality. “The rich do pay a lot in taxes,” he asserted.
