Tech titan Sergey Brin pours 500K into revolt against SF Overpaid CEO Tax

Google co-founder Sergey Brin — who has been leading the campaign against California’s billionaire’s tax — has turned his vast fortune to San Francisco politics.Brin has already shifted himself from Silicon Valley’s liberal bubble for a sprawling Nevada hideaway perched on the edge of Lake Tahoe, just beyond the reach of the tax.But that hasn’t stopped the billionaire, who’s worth a staggering $260 billion, from dropping $500,000 into a committee opposing the city’s so-called “Overpaid CEO Tax”, while supporting a competing, more business-friendly tax measure.San Francisco voters are set to weigh in on Measures C and D, two competing proposals on the June 2 ballot that would radically reshape the city’s business tax system.The first, backed by business groups, would expand tax exemptions for smaller businesses in San Francisco — raising the cutoff from $5 million to $7.5 million in revenue — while accelerating scheduled tax increases on larger companies, particularly through higher executive pay tax rates starting in 2027.Measure D, the so-called Overpaid CEO Act, would broaden a tax on CEOs by basing the figure on a company’s entire workforce, not just San Francisco employees.

It would also significantly raise tax rates and lock them in place by requiring voter approval to reduce it.Labor unions and far-left progressives support Measure D, “to make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share,” said the Chinese Progressive Association.But business interests oppose the act, saying it “doubles down on the exact policies that are driving jobs out and driving vacancies up,” said Steven Buss, co-director of the political advocacy group GrowSF.A May 14 analysis by San Francisco’s Office of the Controller estimated that Measure D would lead to the loss of 944 jobs and $210 million worth of GDP over the next two decades.Meanwhile, Measure C will have only a small benefit, the office said, with a net gain of 90 jobs and $20 ...