Californias billionaire tax has a French connection and riots across the Atlantic offer a grim warning

If Californians want to see the results of socialist policies like the “billionaire tax,” they need only look at the rioting in France — where the inspiration for the tax comes from.The “billionaire tax,” known as Proposition 40, is a one-time 5% wealth tax that will hit California residents with assets valued at over $1 billion.And the tax on the California ballot has a French connection.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story Emmanuel Saez, a French-born Berkeley economist, helped draft Proposition 40.Gabriel Zucman, another prominent French economist at Berkeley, has coauthored much of the research making the case for the tax, along with famed French economist Thomas Piketty, who wrote the 2014 bestseller “Capital in the 21st Century.” The book, which decries wealth inequality as the most important issue in society, encouraged left-wing politicians throughout the Western world to propose more wealth taxes.

Saez and Zucman have also influenced Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in their wealth tax proposals.Before Californians take the advice of these French economists, they should seriously examine France’s experience with taxing wealth and financing an expansive welfare state.Over the past few weeks, French bond yields have jumped amid fiscal woes brought on by anemic economic growth, in part due to high taxes and regulation over decades. Last year, French public spending reached 57.3% of gross domestic product.

The government ran a deficit of 5.1% of GDP.By the end of June, public debt had reached 119% of national output.

France’s pension problems (not unlike California’s) illustrate the bind.Pension spending reached €422 billion, or 14.1% of GDP, in 2025.

In 2023, French leaders realized they were sitting on a ticking time bo...