Google Co-founder Brin Pours $100 Million Into California Tax Fight
California’s fight over a proposal to tax the assets of billionaires is getting more expensive. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has poured $102 million this year into Building a Better California, a group that’s funding two ballot measures designed to block a billionaire tax, data from the California Secretary of State shows.
Brin’s latest donation totaled $20 million. The contribution highlights how the state’s ultra-wealthy are battling a proposal to tax their net worth. Building a Better California is bankrolling two ballot measures—Propositions 41 and 42. Supporters of the billionaire tax claim these measures are meant to “trick voters” into nullifying a wealth tax. Voters will weigh in on the tax proposal, known as Proposition 40, and the other measures in November.
Proposition 41 would require audits for new state special taxes. It would also bar new state taxes that exempt their revenue from a state spending limit. Proposition 42 would prohibit new taxes on retirement holdings, individually-owned assets, and other forms of personal savings. It would bar retroactive taxes on past earnings. Both measures conflict with the proposed billionaire tax. That means they could block the wealth tax from becoming law, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
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Proposition 40 imposes a one-time 5% tax on billionaires’ assets. The tax applies to people with a net worth of at least $1 billion who resided in California on Jan. 1. Ninety percent of the tax would fund healthcare, and 10% would go toward education and food assistance. Supporters estimate that the tax would raise roughly $100 billion to offset federal funding cuts. The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the exact amount is tough to predict, but the state probably would collect tens of billions of dollars.
If Proposition 41 or 42 receives more approval votes than the proposed billionaire tax proposal, that would nullify the wealth tax. The measure faces a growing amount of high-profile opposition, including from the California Chamber of Commerce, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Teachers Association and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. Opponents fear that billionaires will flee California and harm the economy.
Opposition Group Raises Millions From Tech Elite
Building a Better California’s website says it’s a nonpartisan group focused on “supporting forward-looking ideas to improve affordability and quality of life for all Californians” while protecting innovation and economic growth. The group is also backing affordable housing efforts. It declined to comment about Brin’s contributions.
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The group’s biggest contributors include John Doerr, chairman of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins; Michael Moritz, former partner at Sequoia Capital; and Patrick Collison, chief executive of fintech company Stripe. Executives from DoorDash, the Wonderful Company, Affirm and Ripple, as well as former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, also contributed to the group, data from the California Secretary of State show.
Ripple Labs co-founder Chris Larsen and venture capitalist Ron Conway have also been funding opposition to the billionaire tax. Meanwhile, billionaires have reduced their ties to California or threatened to move. Brin relocated to Nevada and is buying new property elsewhere, like Florida. Brin told the New York Times in April that he fled socialism with his family in the 1970s and doesn’t want “California to end up in the same place.”
