SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 27 (Our California Times) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will vote against a billionaire wealth-tax initiative on the state’s November ballot, while calling for a federal version instead and saying “the fight belongs at the federal level.”
Newsom made the case in a Substack post and video message after the measure qualified for the ballot. He said wealthy taxpayers can move to states such as Texas or Florida, arguing that a state-level tax could push money and business out of California.
The initiative would impose a one-time 5% tax on people with net worth above $1 billion, according to the measure. Newsom had previously said he intended to stop the proposal and told The New York Times in January that he had been working behind the scenes against it.
He paired his opposition to the California measure with a broader federal tax pitch that would include a minimum tax on Americans worth more than $100 million, changes to inheritance rules, limits on borrowing against appreciated assets and higher corporate tax rates.
