Billionaire tax proposal roils Bay Area havens, divides politicians

"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 and setting off a vitriolic political fight over how far the state should go to fund its health care system and whether the super-rich will tolerate it."

"Of the roughly 200 billionaires in California, more than half call the Bay Area home. 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."

"But now, the Service Employees International UnionUnited Healthcare Workers West has poked a gilded hornets' nest with a proposed ballot initiative to take a 5% bite of each billionaire's wealth including publicly traded stock and private holdings that are not always easy to cash in. The levy could be paid over five years, with an annual fee of 7.5% of the remaining balance. Supporters say the measure, known as the California Billionaires Tax Act, could send as much as $100 billion into state coffers,"

A proposed one-time emergency tax would levy 5% of net worth on California residents with more than $1 billion. Supporters project up to $100 billion in revenue to fund the state's health care system. The levy would include publicly traded stock and private holdings and could be paid over five years with an annual fee of 7.5% on the remaining balance. The Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West is backing the ballot initiative. The proposal has provoked fierce backlash among Silicon Valley billionaires and set off a vitriolic political fight. More than half of California's roughly 200 billionaires live in the Bay Area.

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