Business Leaders React to California’s Wealth Tax Proposal

Billionaire CEO Pershing Square Holdings wrote on Monday by X that he is “against wealth taxes because they are effectively an expropriation of private property” that can have “unintended and negative consequences.”

However, he said he was in favor of a “fairer tax system.”

For example, Ackman wrote that a person who has amassed a fortune of a billion dollars or more cannot pay personal income taxes while living off loans secured by his company's stock. Changing the tax code could solve this problem, he wrote.

“You can't live and spend like a billionaire and not pay taxes,” Ackman wrote.

Regarding California's “budget problems,” Ackman wrote that the problem is not a lack of tax revenue, but “how the money is spent.”

White House AI and the king of cryptocurrencies targeted the California government in X post on Sunday.

Red states like Texas and Florida do not levy state income taxes, let alone wealth taxes, Sachs writes. “Democrats steal everything and then blame job creators for their 'greed,'” he wrote.

Sachs said in October issue The All-In podcast, which he co-hosts, said a wealth tax “always backfires” because the tax benefits are outweighed by wealthy residents leaving.

Sachs threatened to leave the state, comparing the constant tax hikes to boiling a frog on a podcast.

“I’m going to have to jump out of the pot with this,” he said.

Congressman 17th District of Californiawhich covers much of Silicon Valley, said the proposal is “good for American innovation.”

Having received thousands of comments on Friday mail After bidding a sarcastic farewell to those who had threatened to leave the state, Hanna explained his support in seven paragraphs. X post on Saturday.

He wrote this Nvidia will be rebuilt, even taking into account the wealth tax.

“Jensen [Huang] I didn't think I wouldn't start this company because one day I might have to pay a 1% tax on my billions,” Khanna wrote. “He built here because there is talent here.”

Khanna argued that innovation would be further stifled by the “political dysfunction and social unrest” that comes with huge wealth gaps.

In a statement to Business Insider, Sarah Drori, a House spokeswoman for Hanna, wrote that the representative has “always supported a modest wealth tax on billionaires to address staggering inequality and provide people with health care.”

“He advocates for reasonable workarounds for startup founders whose companies are unprofitable and who have illiquid shares,” Drori wrote.

Founder of Oculus and co-founder of Anduril wrote in Sunday post X that the tax would force founders to “sell huge chunks of our companies.”

Lucky wrote that he made money from Oculus – that he sold to Facebook in 2014 – and paid millions in taxes for it. He then used the “remainder” to launch Anduril, he wrote.

“Now my co-founders and I need to somehow find billions of dollars in cash,” Luckey wrote.

Luckey also wrote that the policy makes no provisions for companies that funnel earnings back into research and development rather than paying out cash earnings significant enough to cover the tax.

“You are effectively forcing companies to immediately switch to an obsession with profit rather than mission or long-term sustainability,” he wrote.

CEO of a startup accelerator Y-combinator wrote on Saturday X post that the tax would “kill little technology in California.”

Founders of unicorn startups become “paper billionaires”—that is, with cash on hand—of about $5 billion, Tan says. wrote.

The proposed tax would be levied on unrealized profits, meaning founders would be at stake even before their wealth becomes liquid, Tan wrote.

If the tax is passed, Tan wrote that Y Combinator would consider opening programs in Austin or Cambridge.

The Vermont senator has long been a proponent of taxes on the rich. introduction of a bill in 2019, which aimed to halve the wealth of billionaires over a 15-year period.

While Sanders has not made explicit comments on California's proposal, he posted on Monday by X broadly supporting wealth taxes.

“We can respect innovation and entrepreneurship, but we cannot respect the extreme greed that exists now,” Sanders wrote. “We need a wealth tax.”

Tesla CEO reposted Another user's X-post he commented on the tax, saying that his shares did not generate wealth.

Musk wrote in his post on tuesday that his “wealth” is mainly due to shares of Tesla and SpaceX.

“This means that my ‘wealth’ can only increase by producing more products and services for the population,” he wrote.

Without directly commenting on the California tax, Musk wrote that he was a “maker,” as opposed to “receiver” politicians like Sanders.

Musk said in 2020 that he had moved from From California to Texas.

Governor of California opposed the wealth tax. In the New York Times Conference Dealbook in December, Newsom said California must remain competitive with other states.

“People of this status already have two or three homes out of state,” he said. “We need to be pragmatic about this.”

If the tax passes as a ballot measure, Newsom would not be able to veto it.