Now Reading: Sergey Brin spends $102 million to fight California billionaire tax
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Sergey Brin spends $102 million to fight California billionaire tax
Sergey Brin spends $102 million to fight California billionaire tax
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated another $20 million to Building a Better California, bringing his total contributions to $102 million to defeat Proposition 40, a wealth tax on billionaires. The measure,…
The Story in Brief
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated another $20 million to Building a Better California, bringing his total contributions to $102 million to defeat Proposition 40, a wealth tax on billionaires. The measure, on the November ballot, would impose a one-time 5 per cent tax on California’s 200 richest people, with 90 per cent of revenue for health care and 10 per cent for education and food assistance.
If passed, Brin would owe an estimated $13.3 billion, making his spending a 130-to-1 bet. Opponents include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, and Governor Gavin Newsom, who says the tax could erode the state's tax base. The pro-tax group, launched by a healthcare union, has raised just over $30 million, according to livemint.com.
The Indian Opinion
Both sides of this California fight have money behind them, billionaires trying to keep their fortunes and a union hoping to fund health care. Brin calling the tax 'Soviet-style socialism' is a familiar scare tactic, but Gavin Newsom's warning that it could shrink the state's tax base is not baseless. The real test will be whether ordinary Californians see a 5 per cent one-time levy as a fair price for better services or as punishment for success.
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
