The architect behind California’s controversial billionaire tax dismissed warnings the proposal is already driving rich residents out of the Golden State, calling the claims “totally fabricated” at the same time as a rising checklist of billionaires have reportedly relocated or are weighing an exit forward of the November election.
Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Staff West (SEIU-UHW), stated there’s “completely no proof” that rich Californians are fleeing due to the proposed one-time tax, pushing again in opposition to critics starting from Gov. Gavin Newsom to enterprise teams and Silicon Valley executives.
“There may be completely no proof that billionaires go away,” Regan advised KCRA’s Ashley Zavala Sunday because the invoice made it onto the November poll.
“Billionaires are the wealthiest individuals on the planet. They will reside wherever they need on the earth, not to mention within the nation.”
The labor chief argued that related predictions didn’t materialize elsewhere.
“The entire proof, all the analysis, all the knowledge that we have now is that the very rich make this argument each single time,” Regan stated, pointing to Massachusetts’ millionaire tax.
“Everyone stated they had been going to go to New Hampshire, and so they had been going to go to different states. It’s simply not true.
“The governor can say it as many instances as he desires, however the info usually are not on his facet,” he added.
His feedback come months after studies that at the very least six California billionaires had already severed their residency earlier than Jan. 1 — the cutoff date written into the poll measure to keep away from the proposed tax.
Amongst those that have reportedly left or considerably shifted their residency are Google co-founder Larry Web page, who has established a presence in Florida after buying greater than $170 million value of Miami-area actual property; Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, who has deepened his Florida ties and already votes there; and enterprise capitalist David Sacks, who relocated from San Francisco to Austin, Texas.
Others have reportedly adopted related paths.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has been linked to South Florida actual property whereas additionally relocating to Nevada’s Lake Tahoe area.
SpaceX investor Steve Jurvetson and AI govt Naveen Rao have additionally reportedly moved to the Nevada facet of Lake Tahoe.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Oracle founder Larry Ellison have established residences outdoors California in recent times, whereas former Hewlett-Packard and eBay CEO Meg Whitman not too long ago bought her sprawling Northern California ranch amid the rising debate over the proposal.
Tax adviser David Lesperance beforehand stated he personally helped 4 billionaire purchasers terminate their California residency earlier than the Jan. 1 deadline, whereas wealth managers have warned that one other 15 to twenty billionaire households may go away if voters in the end approve the measure.
Regan rejected these warnings outright.
“The tax that we’re proposing is a one-time tax primarily based on whether or not or not somebody was a resident of the state of California on Jan. 1 of this 12 months,” he stated. “So there isn’t any incentive for billionaires to go away. Their standing as a authorized resident is already ingrained.”
“Even to pursue the concept there’s incentive to go away is simply false,” he continued. “The entire proof tells us that it’s not true, and there’s no motive to consider these claims are true both.”
The California Billionaire Tax Act formally certified for the November poll after supporters gathered sufficient signatures. The measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on California residents whose internet value exceeded $1 billion as of Jan. 1, 2026, with supporters estimating it may elevate roughly $100 billion.
Ninety p.c of the proceeds can be directed towards healthcare applications, together with Medi-Cal, whereas the remaining 10% would fund schooling and meals help.
Regan stated the proposal is important to offset looming federal healthcare cuts.
“It is a one-time emergency tax to handle the collapse of our healthcare system in California and the lack of healthcare protection for three-and-a-half million individuals,” he stated. “When it’s handed, it is going to elevate $100 billion to handle that particular drawback that nobody, together with the governor, has an answer for.
“The concept placing $100 billion into the healthcare system to maintain tens of millions and tens of millions of individuals in a safe place — and amenities and clinics and hospitals open — one way or the other means much less income doesn’t make any sense,” Regan added. “I don’t know why they’re allowed to make these actually nutty claims.”
The measure has change into one of many 12 months’s most contentious political fights after Newsom vowed to marketing campaign in opposition to it, arguing a California-only wealth tax would drive away funding and in the end price the state greater than it raises.
Supporters even provided to cut back the tax from 5% to 2% throughout negotiations with Newsom, however the governor rejected the proposal, saying the state-level measure remained essentially flawed.
The billionaire tax additionally received’t be alone on the November poll.
Opponents backed by Constructing A Higher California — a marketing campaign supported by Brin, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and different rich Californians — efficiently certified a number of competing poll measures designed to undercut the tax if each cross.
One proposal would require expanded audits of applications funded by means of new particular taxes and contains provisions critics say may complicate implementation of the billionaire tax.
Different competing initiatives would prohibit retroactive taxes on private monetary property and limit lawmakers from exempting new tax income from California’s constitutional spending limits — provisions aimed squarely on the billionaire tax’s retroactive Jan. 1 set off and its funding construction.
Obtain The California Put up App, comply with us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
California Put up Information: Fb, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Put up Sports activities Fb, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Put up Opinion
California Put up Newsletters: Enroll right here!
California Put up App: Obtain right here!
Residence supply: Enroll right here!
Web page Six Hollywood: Enroll right here!
