Gavin Newsom opposes a California wealth tax. He's proposing a national billionaire tax instead

[fujiyamasan]

23. If you have a net worth of over a billion

And don’t want to pay this tax, what’s to keep you from leaving ASAP to establish residency elsewhere? I could also see constitutional issues if say, CA tries clawing the 5% from those that have left.

When you have a net worth that high, everything essentially becomes free. It’s not as though a short private jet or chartered flight from Austin or some other city in a red state, is anything more than a mere inconvenience. For the poor and middle class, progressive policies and a robust safety net on healthcare and abortion matter. For the ultra wealthy, not so much.

Say their companies are based in CA, does it still tax them accordingly? What’s to stop them from doing what Tesla and others have already done — by moving their headquarters elsewhere, and maybe keeping a small office in state, just to retain some talent that won’t move?

I’m not sold on Newsom for president, and I certainly agree that SV has an absurd amount of influence in Sacramento (as well as DC of course), but I’m not sure if this measure will generate the income it’s supposed to for the state.

I’m way too cynical to believe there won’t be loopholes for them to get out this…But I'm also not cynical about Newsom s motivation in opposing this. I think he brings up some real good points about how this is structured at the state level and capital outflows and economic competitiveness. If he were really cynical in vying for the nomination he’d be full bore in support of this given the direction the democratic base is heading. It’s an easier “win” for him to simply give in and back this.