{"id":143158,"date":"2026-01-21T14:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/143158\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T14:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:23:08","slug":"sacks-blasts-california-wealth-tax-as-asset-seizure-and-confiscation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/143158\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacks blasts California wealth tax as asset seizure and confiscation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Watch<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s artificial intelligence<\/a> and crypto<\/a> czar David Sacks<\/a> on Wednesday criticized California’s proposed wealth tax<\/a> on billionaires, calling it a “scary direction” for the U.S.<\/p>\n

“This is this is not a tax, this is an asset seizure,” the venture capitalist told CNBC’s “Squawk Box<\/a>” from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. <\/p>\n

“Never been anything like this before in American history,” he added.<\/p>\n

The Billionaire Tax Act, which is currently collecting signatures to be added to the November ballot in California, proposes a one-time 5% tax on the total wealth of residents with $1 billion<\/a> or more in net worth. The tax would apply to California residents as of Jan. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Sacks insisted that “it’s not a one-time, it’s a first time.”<\/p>\n

“And if they get away with it, there’ll be a second time and a third time. And this will be the beginning of something new and different in this country, which is asset seizure,” he said.<\/p>\n

Sacks, who has relocated to Texas after three decades in California, believes the legislation has a “good chance” of passing and could set a precedent for similar bills in other states. <\/p>\n

He called out Gov. Gavin Newsom for his delayed opposition to the bill, which he argued has caused a trillion dollars of net worth to leave the state and put a “huge hole” in tax collections. <\/p>\n

Despite the tax, CEOs like Nvidia<\/a>‘s Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have indicated plans to stay<\/a> in the state. Airbnb<\/a> CEO Brian Chesky also told CNBC this month that he’ll remain in California.<\/p>\n

But Sacks said smaller businesses in California are more flexible and opting to leave.<\/p>\n

“They’ve got large companies in the state, and California’s network effect is powerful,” he said of large businesses like Nvidia. “That’s why progressives think they can get away with this.”<\/p>\n

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