California Democrats have spent decades driving up the cost of housing, energy and groceries. Now, instead of taking responsibility for the mess they created, they are offering voters another tax.<\/p>\n
Proposition 40 would impose a 5% tax on the net worth of Californians worth more than $1 billion, with advocates claiming it would be a \u201cone-time\u201d charge. Supporters promise it will affect only a few hundred billionaires while raising tens of billions of dollars for government programs.<\/p>\n
Californians should know better than to believe Sacramento when it promises a tax will only affect someone else.<\/p>\n
Billionaires have something most working families do not: the ability to leave.<\/p>\n
They can move to Texas, Florida, Nevada or another state that does not punish success. They can take their businesses, investments and ventures with them. When they go, California loses jobs, economic activity and the tax revenue they provide.<\/p>\n
The measure\u2019s retroactive residency date means moving now would not necessarily erase the wealth tax bill. But it cannot force billionaires to keep living, investing or building businesses here. Sacramento might collect a payment today while sacrificing tax revenue for years to come. That is the danger supporters conveniently overlook.<\/p>\n
The billionaires leave. The spending remains. Democrats send the bill to everyone still here.California\u2019s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office estimates Proposition 40 could reduce ongoing state income tax revenue by less than $1 billion annually. The California Tax Foundation projects greater damage, estimating billionaire departures and the resulting economic fallout could cost the state between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion annually.<\/p>\n
Over a decade, the foundation\u2019s estimate would translate into lost recurring revenue of $35 billion to $45 billion.<\/p>\n
That is not a rounding error. It is a recurring shortfall that would eventually require spending cuts, borrowing or, knowing Sacramento, more taxes and fees.<\/p>\n
California has faced budget crises, addressing shortfalls of approximately $27 billion in 2023-24, $55 billion in 2024-25 and $15 billion in 2025-26, according to the legislative analyst. Proposition 40 could make this unstable system even more unstable by driving away taxpayers who contribute to state revenue.<\/p>\n
Even Gov. Gavin Newsom understands the danger. So does Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra. The San Francisco Democratic Party voted overwhelmingly against Proposition 40. Organizations that regularly support Democratic politicians, including the California Teachers Association, California Professional Firefighters and Planned Parenthood, oppose it.<\/p>\n
These are not tax-cutting conservatives. If even they can see the fiscal train wreck coming, voters should pay attention.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the California Democratic Party narrowly endorsed the measure anyway. Its activists are so committed to their tax-and-spend ideology that they are willing to ignore the consequences and gamble with funding for schools, health care and public safety.<\/p>\n
When the one-time money runs out, the spending commitments will remain. Sacramento will need another source of money. Democrats will do what they always do: come back for another tax, another fee and another raid on working families.<\/p>\n
Higher business taxes can mean higher prices or fewer jobs. Higher vehicle fees hit commuters. Higher charges on utilities squeeze household budgets. Families already choosing between groceries, rent and electricity cannot afford another Sacramento experiment. And they should not be Sacramento\u2019s fallback.<\/p>\n
Democrats have controlled the California Legislature since 1996 and the governor\u2019s office since 2011. They have had every opportunity to make California more affordable and competitive. Instead, they made gasoline, electricity and housing more expensive while producing massive budget shortfalls and failing government programs.<\/p>\n
Now they want voters to believe another tax will solve the problems their policies created.<\/p>\n
This is not about feeling sorry for billionaires. It is about protecting Californians who cannot hire an army of accountants, relocate a company or buy a home in another state.<\/p>\n
Billionaires have options. Working families do not.<\/p>\n
If Proposition 40 passes, the wealthy will protect themselves. Sacramento politicians will keep spending and eventually look for someone else to pay.<\/p>\n
You guessed it: working-class Californians already struggling under more than a decade of complete Democratic control.<\/p>\n
Vote no on Proposition 40.<\/p>\n
Bedingfield is chairman of the Lincoln Club Business League and lives in La Jolla.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California Democrats have spent decades driving up the cost of housing, energy and groceries. Now, instead of taking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[964,975,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-482823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-commentary","tag-opinion","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}