Union knows whod really pay for California billionaire tax

There are cracks in the foundation of labor support for the California “billionaire tax” headed for the Nov.3 ballot. Good. In a nod to reality, the president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council says billionaires produce sports arenas and other large projects that put tradesmen to work.“[W]hat we believe would happen is these individuals would leave California and would take these investments to other states — losing the jobs for our members,” Chris Hannon said.Bingo.And the exodus/job loss dynamic would not only hit construction; it would batter industries statewide, from technology and entertainment to philanthropy, retail and more.The damage from the tax –– which would slap a onetime 5% levy on any state resident whose net worth exceeds $1 billion, retroactive to Jan.

1 –– is already here.Billionaires with combined fortunes exceeding $500 billion have fled the state, thanks to the wealth-tax scheme.  California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story And they’ve taken about 30% of the state’s aggregate billionaire wealth with them, per research from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.That hardly bodes well for a state that’s disproportionately reliant on rich taxpayers and faces multibillion-dollar budget shortfalls as it is.Wealth flight, job losses and deeper state deficits are just the start, and for what?For greed. The wealth tax is a self-serving cash grab by the SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, one of the many unions that all but run Sacramento. SEIU-UHW’s mulish president, Dave Regan, appears to care nothing for the larger fallout in California, so long as he can pad his union’s pockets at public expense.(Regan collected total compensation of about $400,000 in 2023, per ProPublica’s Nonprof...