The Tax Foundation released a chart with the 25 areas with the highest rate of sales tax.  Not surprising was the fact that California had 8 of the top 25 in the list.  But there were two surprises.  First,  Alabama and Arizona each had several cities on the list.   Second, of the California cities with high rates, two in the Central Valley with high levels of unemployment and other sorts of problems (Stockton and Fresno) have among the highest rates in the country.  So much for those two areas growing any time soon.  Both also have a huge overhang of unsold houses.