Gavin Newsom Shows He is a Wh$%# – Says Vote No on the Billionaires Tax

Newsom Wants You to Vote No

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pleading with voters to reject the California Billionaire Tax Act. For a politician who has spent years supporting higher taxes, expanding government, and asking Californians to pay more, it is a remarkable reversal.

Newsom insists he is trying to save California from an economic disaster. His critics believe something else is going on. They argue the governor is protecting the Silicon Valley billionaires who could become major donors if he runs for president in 2028.

Yep.

Newsom has built much of his political career around raising taxes and expanding government spending. Yet now that one tax threatens the wealthy political and business class that finances California politics, he suddenly sounds like a free market economist.

A Governor Who Rarely Says No to Higher Taxes

Throughout his governorship, Newsom has repeatedly supported tax increases or tax expansions.

His administration eliminated California’s wage cap on the State Disability Insurance payroll tax, increasing payroll taxes on higher income workers.

He signed the nation’s first 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition.

His administration has continued annual gasoline tax increases through California’s inflation indexing law.

He has repeatedly backed expansions of the Managed Care Organization tax, which critics argue will ultimately increase private health insurance premiums.

His 2026 budget also includes several major new revenue measures, including a new 7.25% tax on many digital software products and Software as a Service platforms, new permanent limits on corporate tax credits, and another expansion of the Managed Care Organization tax expected to generate billions of dollars over the coming years.

Newsom also signed legislation allowing Bay Area counties to ask voters for new regional sales taxes approaching $1 billion annually if approved.

Taken together, the record is difficult to dispute. Gavin Newsom has generally been comfortable asking Californians to pay more.

Which makes his sudden campaign against the billionaire tax all the more remarkable.

What Is the Billionaire Tax?

The California Billionaire Tax Act would impose a one time 5% tax on California residents whose net worth exceeded $1 billion on January 1, 2026.

Only about 200 people would pay the tax.

Supporters estimate it would raise approximately $100 billion. Ninety percent would be dedicated to healthcare programs, while the remaining ten percent would support education and food assistance. Billionaires would have five years to pay.

The measure qualified for the November ballot after supporters gathered enough signatures.

It is being promoted by Billionaire Tax Now, a campaign financed primarily by the Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers West.

Newsom’s Change of Philosophy

Despite his long history of supporting higher taxes, Newsom has become one of the measure’s loudest opponents.

“I’m voting no,” Newsom declared after the initiative qualified for the ballot.

He warned that billionaires “can, and do” move to states like Texas and Florida because “wealth is movable.” He also argued that taxing billionaires “belongs at the federal level” rather than state by state.

That argument is economically sensible.

It is also politically convenient.

For years, Newsom has defended tax increases that ordinary Californians could not escape. Now that a tax directly threatens California’s wealthiest political donors and business leaders, he has suddenly become deeply concerned about taxpayer mobility.

Following the Money

Progressive journalist David Sirota offered perhaps the bluntest criticism.

“Gavin Newsom is trying to protect 250 prospective 2028 presidential donors, even if that means 3 million of his constituents are medically bankrupted.”

Whether or not that accusation is fair, it highlights Newsom’s political dilemma.

If billionaires leave California, they stop donating, investing, and financing political campaigns.

If they stay, they remain valuable allies for any governor with national ambitions.

Critics argue Newsom is simply protecting the people who matter most to his political future.

The Billionaires Are Already Leaving

Unlike many political debates, this one already has real world examples.

Tesla’s Elon Musk has left California.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison has reduced his California presence.

Google co founder Larry Page reportedly relocated several business entities before the proposed tax’s residency deadline.

Google co founder Sergey Brin reportedly moved to Nevada as the proposal gained momentum.

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Allison Huynh believes these departures are only the beginning.

She predicted a “mass migration” involving “not just the billionaires, but the people who are investing in new ideas, in new infrastructure, whether it’s AI, healthcare, tech, robotics.”

Her comparison was memorable.

“Instead of lowering the price, they increase the price. And then you go into the restaurant, and it’s like $50 for a bowl of really bad dumplings.”

Huynh argues investors will simply relocate, taking companies, jobs, and future tax revenue with them.

Who Wants the Tax?

The proposal enjoys enthusiastic support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, who called it “reasonable and necessary” during “a time of unprecedented and growing wealth consolidation and income inequality.”

Sanders also declared, “Never before have so few people had so much wealth and so much power.”

California Congressman Ro Khanna has also backed the proposal.

SEIU United Healthcare Workers West argues California faces a healthcare funding crisis and says the billionaire tax is necessary to prevent hospital closures and preserve Medi-Cal and other public programs.

Mark Peterson, a UCLA public policy professor, said the revenue “would make a huge difference” if the tax survives legal challenges and if billionaires do not move their assets beforehand.

Newsom has spent years supporting tax increases that affected workers, businesses, drivers, gun owners, software users, employers, and health insurance customers. Yet when a tax threatens California’s billionaire class, he suddenly warns that taxes can drive people away.

That looks less like a philosophical conversion than political self preservation.

T28 Editor: We see this very clearly and cannot help but laugh.

Gavin Newsom is the classic political whore. His tax and spend philosophy take a back seat to his personal political ambitions, which, ironically, puts him on the right side for a change.