One way to look at it is that taxes and fees like this are the cost of living in such a place. California is a very desirable place to live and to employ peopl

One way to look at it is that taxes and fees like this are the cost of living in such a place. California is a very desirable place to live and to employ people, so they can charge through the nose, both in terms of taxes and bureaucracy, but also in terms of housing prices. Low-tax sunbelt states are less desirable, ergo they have to compete on price, be it taxes, housing costs, or regulations. If Texas or Florida provided amenities that people wanted and a workforce as desirable as California, either there would be a massive influx to those states, 5, 10 million people a year, or they could charge people a lot of the pleasure of living or employing there.