SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 27 (Our California Times) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging voters to reject a billionaire wealth-tax initiative that has qualified for the November ballot, saying he will vote no and arguing the fight belongs in Washington, not Sacramento.
In a Substack post and video message, Newsom said the measure would push wealthy residents out of California and could hurt the state’s economy. He said billionaires can move their money and residency to states such as Texas or Florida to avoid a state tax.
“The fight belongs at the federal level, where this broken system was created in the first place,” Newsom wrote, while also calling for a nationwide tax on billionaires.
Newsom’s alternative would create a federal minimum tax on Americans worth more than $100 million, along with changes to inheritance rules, limits on borrowing against appreciated assets and higher corporate tax rates, according to the post.
The California measure, backed by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare West, would impose a one-time 5% tax on people with assets above $1 billion. It is now set for voters to decide in November.
Newsom had previously told The New York Times in January that he intended to stop the proposal, and he framed his opposition as a warning that a state-level tax could drive wealth out of California.
