SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 27 (Our California Times) — A California ballot measure aimed at taxing billionaires has qualified for the November election, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging voters to reject it while calling for Congress to adopt a national billionaire tax instead.
Newsom said in a Substack post and video that he will vote no and that the fight “belongs at the federal level.” He said wealthy people can move assets or residency to states such as Texas or Florida, making a state-only tax vulnerable to avoidance.
The governor also outlined a broader federal tax plan that would place a minimum tax on Americans worth more than $100 million and change inheritance rules, borrowing against appreciated assets and corporate taxes.
Newsom had previously said he wanted to stop the California initiative. In an interview with The New York Times in January, he said he was working behind the scenes against the proposal.
The measure now heads to voters in November, setting up a high-profile test of support for taxing extreme wealth in California.
