Multimillionaires and billionaires would face new taxes on their wealth under a bill pushed by a group of California Democrats, who argue the state needs to aggressively crack down on “extreme wealth.”
Similar proposals have died in recent years, but the lawmakers backing the plan this year say they hope coordination with other states, an influx of new lawmakers in Sacramento and a looming budget deficit will give the proposal better odds.
The proposal would add a tax on the state’s wealthiest residents of 1% of their worldwide net worth over $50 million, or over $25 million for married people who file taxes separately from their spouse. It would also impose an additional.5% tax on wealth over $1 billion, or $500 million for married people filing separately. The wealth tax would be on top of income taxes, and would apply to a person’s total assets, not just new money they made in the last year. Supporters say they would use the money to fund schools, infrastructure and other public services.
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