The California Franchise Tax Board actually spends a lot resources catching people who spend too much time in state and don't claim to live there. It's actually surprisingly hard for would-be tax dodgers to pull off, and the penalties are severe.
This reminds me of the lengths Ernest Hemmingway went to avoid paying taxes - he kept meticulous diaries, in part because that's who he was, but also to prove to the US and Cuban authorities that he didn't live in their respective jurisdictions long enough to be taxed at <whatever rate>.
Of course, the Castro government seized his assets in Cuba come the revolution, so I don't think it worked out for him in the long run, financially speaking.
