TechCrunch reports that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated another $20 million to Build a Better California, an organisation opposing California’s proposed billionaire tax.
The latest contribution takes his campaign spending above $100 million. Brin’s potential liability under the proposal is estimated at approximately $13.3 billion.
Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of around 200 billionaires living in the state. Most of the proceeds would fund healthcare programmes; California’s Medicaid programme could lose up to $30 billion in federal funding after budget cuts.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has also opposed the measure. He is concerned about wealthy residents and businesses leaving the state and has called for a national billionaire tax instead.
“Today, the office worker can shoulder a higher tax rate than the heiress. We should end the ‘tax-free lifestyle loan,’ the gimmick that lets the ultra-wealthy borrow against their stock portfolios while reporting no taxable income,” — Gavin Newsom, Governor of California
Californians will vote on Proposition 40 in November. The Brin-funded organisation has proposed competing ballot measures that could limit new taxes and effectively block the proposal.
Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang has taken the opposite position. He would owe an estimated $8 billion if the measure passes.
“I have not even thought about it once. We chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it. I’m perfectly fine with it,” — Jensen Huang, Nvidia co-founder
Proposition 40 remains a proposal, and California voters will make the final decision in November.
