Anyone who is considered an employer in California must comply with payroll tax obligations, whether or not you may object to them! Yes, some of the programs they fund have questionable track records of abuse by workers and mismanagement by the CA E.D.D. Nevertheless, this article is a good summary provided by Gehres Law Group. Excerpt below.

There are four payroll tax programs in California which are administered by the Employment Development Department. These payroll taxes include:

• Unemployment tax: Unemployment tax must be paid on the first $7,000 in wages employers pay to each employee during the calendar year. Employers pay this tax on a quarterly basis. Tax rates vary based on factors including whether the employer is a new employer as well as the employer’s experience with the unemployment program. Taxes could vary between 1.5% and 6.2%. This tax funds unemployment payments for workers who are laid off from their jobs.
• Employment training tax: Employment training tax is charged at a rate of .1% of the first $7,000 in wages employers pay to employees during each calendar year. The tax provides funding to train employees in industries necessary to keep California businesses competitive. Employers pay this tax.
• State disability insurance: State disability insurance is funded by a tax on employee wages. Employees pay this tax. Employers must withhold .9% of the first $110,902 in wages that are paid to employees during each calendar year. The taxes fund short-term disability payments and paid leave for eligible workers who take time off to care for a new child or for a sick child, parent, grandparent, sibling, spouse, or other close relative
• California personal income tax withholding: California personal income taxes are paid by workers on income they earn within the state of California. Employers must withhold an appropriate amount of money from an employee’s entire salary based on the information provided by employees on their W-4 forms.

Employers are responsible for the payment and/or collection of each of these payroll taxes as well as for the timely submission of payroll tax forms and payments of all taxes due.