Tax Foundation says California billionaire tax pitch keeps shifting
An Oct. 16 op-ed focuses on advocate Gabriel Zucman's description of Proposition 40 as a one-time levy, without offering a new revenue figure.
At a glance
The Tax Foundation published an op-ed on Oct. 16 arguing that California's Proposition 40 has been pitched to voters in shifting terms by its advocates.
Bunn points to economist Gabriel Zucman, whom he describes as a key advocate of the ballot measure and who called the amendment "a one-time tax on billionaires" in a September interview.
Two reference points remain working numbers for advisors: Stanford economists' estimate that Proposition 40 would raise $30 billion, and the January 1 snapshot our August coverage said California clients should settle domicile questions ahead of.
The Tax Foundation published an op-ed on Oct. 16 arguing that California's Proposition 40 has been pitched to voters in shifting terms by its advocates. The piece by Daniel Bunn, the foundation's president and CEO, is titled "The California Billionaire Tax's Ever-Shifting Goalposts"; the extract previews the full op-ed, which the foundation says originally ran in The Orange County Register.
Bunn points to economist Gabriel Zucman, whom he describes as a key advocate of the ballot measure and who called the amendment "a one-time tax on billionaires" in a September interview. Bunn also cites a New York Times op-ed in which, by his account, Zucman assured readers the tax was not an attempt to "fix" all of California's problems.
Two reference points remain working numbers for advisors: Stanford economists' estimate that Proposition 40 would raise $30 billion, and the January 1 snapshot our August coverage said California clients should settle domicile questions ahead of.
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