r/technology • u/Logical_Welder3467 • 18d ago

Society Google cofounder Sergey Brin has spent $102 million to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax—he could owe $13 billion if he loses

https://fortune.com/article/how-much-has-google-cofounder-sergey-brin-spent-to-oppose-california-billionaire-tax-102-million-owe-13-billion-if-loses/
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u/invyros 18d ago

A working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in May noted billionaires residing in the state paid $4.1 billion in income tax last year, about 0.2% of their collective $2 trillion net worth, meaning that even if every billionaire were to leave the state, it would take about 25 years for lost income tax revenue to cancel out the $100 billion sum California is projected to get from the tax.

Opponents to this one-time tax argue that it'll make billionaires leave the state, making California lose out on any recurring taxes they may pay in the future.

These numbers destroy that argument immediately.

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u/Forkrul 17d ago

There's more than income tax the state loses by these people moving. Their day-to-day spend goes elsewhere so they lose out on sales tax, a lot of their staff will move with them losing out on income and sales tax from those people and their spending. They'll probably move any corporate headquarters as well, losing the corporate taxes and all the income tax from those jobs, etc. Just looking at income tax is an incredible simplistic and naive comparison.

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u/InquisitorMeow 17d ago edited 17d ago

Do you honestly think billionaires contribute significantly to sales tax vs the millions of consumers buying goods every single day? Regarding corporate HQ, many of them are already located in places like Delaware or TX. Also, this is a tax on the billionaire's wealth, what does it have anything to do with corporate tax and HQ?

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u/Forkrul 17d ago

Also, this is a tax on the billionaire's wealth, what does it have anything to do with corporate tax and HQ?

If a billionaire owner of a company decides to move out of state because he doesn't like the tax policy. What do you think he will do with the company he runs? Fly in every day he needs to be in the office? Or move the office to be closer to where he lives?

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u/InquisitorMeow 17d ago

You're right, so we should make this nationwide so it wouldn't be a problem. So let's entertain that scenario, if this was a nationwide tax and billionaire flight wasn't an issue what's the downside of this tax? If your only argument against taxing billionaires is that they would try and avoid it it's a pretty weak argument and even better reason to make nationwide correct? Also if this was that terrible for billionaires why is one of the wealthiest people in the country (Jensen) ok with it?

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u/ironteddybear 17d ago

Jensen is okay with it because he doesn’t want to fight more than one populist backlash at a time. He’s focused on getting AI infrastructure built, which is deeply unpopular. 

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u/Forkrul 17d ago

If they can't just leave to avoid it, that's a viable plan. The issue, at least in my country is that it only applies to people who live in the country, so foreign owners of stock/companies do not pay that tax. This means those companies can keep more of its money to drive growth or pay its employees instead of having to pay out dividends for the owners to pay a tax on their ownership of the company, or just offer lower prices to gain a competitive advantage.

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u/steakanabake 17d ago edited 17d ago

wealthiest people in the country (Jensen) ok with it?

because he functionally has a secondary fort knox at his beck n call.

not disagreeing just adding context.

edit: to be more grammatically correct but not the way the commenter below me wanted me to do it

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u/Tasgall 17d ago

at his beckon call.

Beck and call.

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u/steakanabake 17d ago

Fly in every day he needs to be in the office?

yes it would cost them much more to actually move the facilities so they wont theyll move down to where ever and zoom into meetings they need to have at HQ and fly to me all important people else where. also didnt they say the same thing about them leaving if mamdani got the pied-à-terre? last i heard no one fucking moved they bitched about having their name for the tax on the role but other then that none of them left. because leaving new york is a stupid fucking idea if youre anywhere near the finance sector.

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u/ironteddybear 17d ago

You are dramatically undercounting the fact that departing billionaires take their business with them, and many centamillionaires and decamilliomaires will leave and take their business with them if the tax passes as well. 

This will also be a negative pressure on private investment in California. California has so much momentum, that investment and job growth may not slowdown right away, but 10-20 years from now policies like these could really hinder California’s growth. 

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u/nybbas 17d ago

Also underestimating the ability for California to immediately blow the money they get from this tax in the worst fucking ways possible.

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u/Cory123125 17d ago

Its been shown so many times that rich people posture, but the vast vast majority stay

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u/ironteddybear 17d ago

The majority stay because most wealth taxes fail to get passed. 

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u/Cory123125 17d ago

What type of nonsense logic is this. I'm saying that the majority stay whenever there is an increase in realized taxes.

You're saying "they don't leave when it doesnt happen" which is a completely nonsensical argument that simply pretends what I said isn't true.

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u/ironteddybear 17d ago

France abandoned their wealth tax after their rich threatened to leave, so they never got one. Most wealth taxes die politically before they get implemented. 

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u/Cory123125 17d ago

Yet again, you deflect from the thing being talked about.

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u/ironteddybear 17d ago

No, I’m addressing the fact that wealth taxes either fail to be implemented, or when they are they cause capital flight and don’t raise much revenue. 

This has been discussed thoroughly with evidence over on r/askeconomics

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEconomics/comments/1udeksv/how_are_countries_wealth_taxes_doing/

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u/Cory123125 16d ago

Economists are precisely one demographic, and have said the same talking points forever for any tax.

Every one of them always says they believe they're on the right of the Laffer curve. Linking me to other people's opinions, loosely, in the form of a thread for the least trust worthy people on the topic is not convincing.

If you believed the aggregate person, especially on forums, you'd think trickle down economics was a robust and sturdy tax plan.

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u/ironteddybear 16d ago

They link data from oecd. If you don’t want to have a data based conversation, I can’t help you. 

It’s just factually true that wealth taxes either fail politically or don’t actually raise much money. 

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