California’s Billionaire Tax — Looks Like it Will Make the November Ballot

No matter what state is thinking of taxing the rich, it’s controversial. We’ve recently seen it in Washington State where the Legislature passed a 9.9% income tax on millionaires.

In California the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West pushed an initiative for the November ballot to put a one-time 5% tax on individuals living in California with incomes of $1 billion or more.

The signatures have been turned into California’s Secretary of State Shirley Weber. Over 1.5 million were gathered but the group only needs 875,000 to qualify for the November ballot.

Since close to half of the state’s tax income is from the 1% considered “top earners,” California Governor Gavin Newsom opposes the initiative. One of his top advisors, Brian Brokaw is leading a political committee opposed to the tax. Brokaw says it will add a huge deficit to the state’s tax roles as it will likely chase the wealthiest of Californians to other states.

This is setting up what could be a very costly campaign.

“Enacting a so-called wealth tax in just one state wouldn’t target a small group — it would impact all 40 million Californians,” Brokaw said. “This proposal trades a short-term revenue bump for long-term losses.”

Google founder Sergey Brin has donated $57 million to a political committee opposed to the tax. With Brin’s donation, Building a Better California has raised $90 million from just a few donors.

Forbes magazine estimates somewhere around 25 billionaires live in California. While many own property all over the world, proving they’re actually citizens of the state may be difficult.

Source link: Insurance Journal — https://bit.ly/4d1WPCp