California labor union offers to scale back billionaire tax proposal after pushback
The union said a 2% levy could replace the original 5% tax if Gov. Gavin Newsom backs the plan.
- On Thursday, the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West offered to slash its billionaire tax proposal from 5% to 2%, one day after Secretary of State Shirley Weber confirmed the original measure qualified for the November ballot.
- Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the original proposal, which aimed to generate $100 billion for healthcare, labeling it a "poorly designed state-only measure" that would defund essential services.
- Critics, including the California Medical Association, argue the tax would drive the ultrawealthy to leave, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated $82 million to a committee fighting the proposal.
- Union backers wrote to Newsom that a 2% tax is "modest," yet legislative leaders, including Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, have already pursued alternative budget bills to raise revenue this week.
- California relies on its top 1% of earners for nearly half of its personal income tax revenue, a structural reality complicating how the state responds to federal tax changes President Donald Trump signed last year.
30 Articles
30 Articles
Billionaire Tax Backers Dare Gavin Newsom to Embrace Scaled-Back Plan
Gov. Gavin Newsom is refusing to back down after organizers behind California's controversial billionaire tax initiative on Thursday publicly challenged him to support a scaled-back version of the proposal.
Union Proposes Compromise on California Billionaire Tax
Wall Street Journal: “The architects of California’s proposed billionaire tax said Thursday that they are open to withdrawing the ballot measure if Gov. Gavin Newsom supports a smaller wealth tax.” “In an open letter to the governor, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West said it would pull its proposed one-time, 5% tax from the November ballot if Newsom champions a 2% tax on billionaires’ net worth instead. The…
Labor union offers to scale back California billionaire tax proposal after pushback
A labor union behind a controversial tax on California billionaires significantly scaled back its proposal a day after it qualified for the November ballot, but the offer Thursday wasn’t enough to get Gov. Gavin Newsom on board.
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