Billionaires’ tax getting dry-run in California before socialists, AOC hits DC (only 4.27 years left)

NY Post ^ | 10/17/26 | Geoff Earle

[Libloather]

A billionaires’ tax pushed by radical leftists such as Sen. Bernie Sanders on California’s ballot next month — and with “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ready to take the idea national — a furious, freak alliance of enemies has formed to try to kill it.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is locking arms with furious Republicans, Hollywood elites, and Silicon Valley tech titans to crush the Golden State tax hike before it starts.

Proposition 40 would slap a one-time 5% surtax on the wealth of California billionaires and send most of the money to healthcare, to be paid beginning in 2027 in up to five annual installments.

If the tax scheme passes by referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot, it has the potential to kickstart the debate in Congress, or it could even get copied in other high-wealth states.

Sponsored by the powerful Service Employees International Union and United Healthcare Workers West, it is also backed by democratic socialist Sanders (I-Vt.) and comrade Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who represents Silicon Valley.

It’s also gotten a boost from advisors to radical leftist Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and its top individual donor is Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff to Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who gave $201,000. Those two lawmakers, plus Sanders, are behind efforts in Congress to try to tax billionaires’ wealth.

“It’s a blueprint for direct democracy in the states to retake their power and address some of the actions by Congress,” said Robert Dempsey, San Francisco-based political director of the Sanders-linked Our Revolution, which is pushing the proposal, venting about 2025 Medicaid cuts.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Conspiracy; Local News; Science
KEYWORDS: aoc; billionaire; california; socialists

[Libloather]

Greedy commies. They can never confiscate enough.

[ComputerGuy]

Just yesterday we had over six years left. What happened?

[Libloather]

You don’t sound very prepared.

[catnipman]

this whole deal is a Trojan Horse to fund free health care for the gazillions of illegal aliens California leftist hope to soon see pouring across the border from every other nation on Earth ...

[ridesthemiles]

5% TAX ON 1 BILLION===$50 MILLION.

WILL COST ALOT LESS TO JUST MOVE.

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

Victor Davis Hanson was talking the other day about the TRILLIONS of dollars that have already left Kalifornia. This billionaire tax is retroactive to January 1, 2026. Billionaires took notice and left Kalifornia in 2025.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

So what are they going to do?

Demand entrance to billionaire’s homes in California?

Go through the drawers of their furniture, looking for rare coins and jewelry to “appraise?”

Examine all the paintings on the walls?

These billionaires have enough “FU” money to crush the likes of AOC and her ilk. The lefties had better be careful where they tread.

[cpdiii]

Elon Musk is a trillionaire and may he become a multi trillionaire. He does not sit at home on a giant stack of money, gold, and diamonds. It does not make a good mattress. He takes his money and invests in ventures that make him more money and give many thousands of jobs to his workers making damn good salaries. With his new wealth he does the same thing. This is a win win.

It is true in the past some industrialists have cornered markets and industries and thus inflated prices. That is why we have anti-trust laws. Sometimes those laws are abused for political purposes.

I would suspect Milton Friedman (Best Economist Ever) would approve of my post from his grave.

[FrankRizzo890]

“Proposition 40 would slap a one-time 5% surtax”

Uhh huh, “one-time”.

[Dr. Sivana]

Go through the drawers of their furniture, looking for rare coins and jewelry to “appraise?”

Examine all the paintings on the walls?

The State of New York did just that sort of thing to Rush Limbaugh for YEARS after he fled to Florida.

He knew enough to be conservative in his tax filings. He admitted on air that most of his investments were in tax free bonds.

[rbg81]

LOL. Nearly all the money will go to NGOs, with a substantial share being laundered into DNC (and DSA) coffers.

They are desperate for money now that US AID has been shut down and some of the Commie Billionaires (like Neville Singham) are under increased scrutiny.

[magooey]

Proposition 40 would slap a one-time 5% surtax on the wealth of California billionaires

Do that "one time" for each of the next 20 years and the billionaires will be cleaned out. Who are the politicians going to loot then?

[DIRTYSECRET]

>These billionaires have enough “FU” money to crush the likes of AOC and her ilk. The lefties had better be careful where they tread.<

U’re joking-right? If they could crush AOC why haven’t they? Dr. Zhivago’s house could hold 13 families and it ended up doing so. It was too late and the billionaires FU money? Just guess who the FU was directed at.

I for one proudly voted for the billionaire tax. They vote for and give money to the left. It’s like the NY Jooz(33%) voting for Mamdani-go figure.

[eyeamok]

It might be to late, the lazy, stupid and poor outnumber the productive already I think.

[Nateman]

There is no other rich person who I rather see have that money than Elon Musk. His goal is a multi-planetary civilization. Ever since nuclear weapons have been invented Civilization itself has been under threat by some random dictator who gets them. By having civilization expand off planet at least the eggs are no longer in just one basket.