"When billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla publicly branded Rep. Ro Khanna a "commie comrade" over the weekend, it was more than a personal jab - it was a sign of how fiercely a new proposal to tax California's billionaires is dividing Silicon Valley and the state's political class. The proposal, which would impose a one-time "emergency tax" on the net worth of California residents worth more than $1 billion, is roiling some of the Bay Area's havens for the ultra-wealthy."
"Topping the California billionaires list, according to Forbes, are the founders and leaders of Silicon Valley's technology giants - Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Jensen Huang of Nvidia - along with a constellation of venture capitalists and crypto executives. Many live in some of the nation's wealthiest enclaves, from Atherton and Hillsborough to Portola Valley. Khosla, a Sun Microsystems co-founder and early investor in Google and Amazon, lives in Portola Valley."
A proposed California ballot initiative would impose a one-time "emergency tax" on residents with net worth above $1 billion. The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West advanced the measure, which would take a 5% share of each billionaire's wealth, including publicly traded stock and private holdings that are not always easy to liquidate. The levy could be paid over five years, with an annual fee of 7.5% of the remaining balance. The plan has provoked sharp opposition from many wealthy Bay Area residents and heightened tensions between Silicon Valley figures and allied politicians.
Read at The Mercury News
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