One of the hottest topics in the tech sector is a proposed wealth tax in California aimed at billionaires, and the debate is yielding some insights into how they live.
While Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he’s “perfectly fine” with it, many others aren’t, including LinkedIn cofounder and major Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, who called it “horrendous” for innovation. Meanwhile venture capitalist Peter Thiel as well as Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have already taken steps to sever ties with the Golden State just in case it qualifies for the November ballot and passes.
The proposal calls for California residents worth more than $1 billion to pay a one-time tax equivalent to 5% of their assets. The payment can be made over five years. The union pushing the measure, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, has estimated the wealth tax could raise $100 billion in revenue and help offset federal cuts to health spending.
But one tech investor offered alternatives while acknowledging a massive loophole that the rich use to get around paying income taxes.
During a recent episode of the All-In podcast, cohost David Friedberg characterized the potential ballot initiative as more of an asset seizure—one that could be renewed beyond a year and set a precedent for similar ones elsewhere.
