Our Federal income tax is nowhere near that high. Here are the 2003 Fed income tax rates for a married couple. The figures are taxable income which is after your personal excemptions and deductions.
00% $0 - $7999
10% $8000 - $22,299
15% $22,300 - $64,749
25% $64,750 - $118,049
28% $118,050 - $185,549
33% $185,550 - $326,099
35% $326,100 and up
If you earn $100,000 you'd subtract your personal excemptions of about $6000 and you standard deduction (more if you itemize) of $9500 (married) and you're down to roughly $84,500.
The first $7999 of that is not taxed,
The amount from $8000 to 22,229 is taxed at 10%,
The amount from $22,230 to $64,749 is taxed at 15%, and
The amount above $64750 is taxed at 25%. That gives you a total income tax of $12,735 or 12.735% of your gross pay.
Social Security tax is 6.2% but it's capped at $87,000 so you'll pay no more than $5,394.
Medicare tax is 1.45% and is not capped. That would be $1450 on $100k gross.
Add that all up and your Federal tax is $19,579 or 19.579% of your $100k gross.
Owning a home would greatly increase your deductions as would your California state tax (it's deductable on the Federal return). You can also reduce your taxable income by contributing to a 401k (which many employers offer) by as much as $13,000 in 2004.
California is one of the more expensive places to live in the US.