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Newsom begs Californians to vote ‘no’ on billionaire’s tax in face of mass exodus, pitches nationwide tax hike
CA billionaire tax faces legal challenge, Newsom opposes it
FOX Business Host Cheryl Casone reports on California’s controversial billionaire tax, a one-time 5% levy on residents worth over $1 billion. This measure, which would retroactively apply from January 1, 2026, is opposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Critics question its legality and potential for billionaires to exit the state.
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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing another blow after a massive wealth tax he warned could cause a wealth and business exodus from the state was officially added to the November ballot.
Despite his opposition, the measure’s sponsor, Billionaire Tax Now, announced Thursday that it was officially being added to the state’s ballot. The measure, called the California Billionaire Tax Act, would impose a one-time, «emergency» 5% tax on Californians with assets exceeding $1 billion. The tax has been endorsed by socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who called it «reasonable and necessary» «at a time of unprecedented and growing wealth consolidation and income inequality.»
However, Newsom, a rumored frontrunner for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, has come out strongly against the tax, citing fears that billionaires will simply up and leave to states like Texas or Florida.
In a lengthy Substack post on the tax, Newsom wrote, «Last night, it became certain that a wealth tax would be placed on the November ballot in California. I’m voting no.»
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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has come out strongly against a proposed state billionaire tax while pushing a similar national tax. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
«You may not be able to pick up and move to Texas or Florida to shelter your income from taxation, but I promise you that billionaires can, and do,» he wrote, adding, «Wealth is movable, and it shops for the state with the lowest taxes.»
In a state that has already lost prominent business figures such as Elon Musk, Google co-founder Larry Page and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Newsom is not the only one warning that the billionaire tax could worsen California’s ongoing exodus.
Earlier this year, Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Allison Huynh predicted in an interview with Fox News Digital that the tax would cause a «mass migration,» starting with «not just the billionaires, but the people who are investing in new ideas, in new infrastructure, whether it’s AI, healthcare, tech, robotics.»
Huynh likened the proposed tax hike to a restaurant about to go out of business.
«Instead of lowering the price, they increase the price,» she said. «And then you go into the restaurant, and it’s like $50 for a bowl of really bad dumplings.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Billionaire Tax Now for comment.
BLUE STATE’S BILLIONAIRE EXODUS ABOUT TO GET MUCH WORSE IN 2026, INSIDER WARNS
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., endorsed the California billionaire tax. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
After news of the measure being added to the ballot broke, Newsom called on the U.S. to institute a national billionaire tax and what he referred to as «a new social contract.»
In an X post, Newsom wrote that «the system is fundamentally broken. The federal tax code, a corporate code, and an inheritance code were written for a different set of Americans. It’s time for an economic reset.»
In his Substack post, he argued «the fight to make the wealthiest Americans pay more in taxes is not one we should be fighting state by state.» Instead, he wrote, «The fight belongs at the federal level, where this broken system was created in the first place.»
In January, Newsom said he felt vindicated in opposing the proposed wealth tax after reports showed some of California’s wealthiest residents moving money and businesses out of the state, warning the measure would damage the economy and drive away investment.
«This is my fear,» Newsom said in a Politico interview on Monday. «It’s just what I warned against. It’s happening.»
«The evidence is in. The impacts are very real — not just substantive economic impacts in terms of the revenue, but start-ups, the indirect impacts of … people questioning long-term commitments, medium-term commitments,» he continued. «That’s not what we need right now, at a time of so much uncertainty. Quite the contrary.»
Despite Newsom’s opposition, the group behind the tax effort — Billionaire Tax Now, sponsored by the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West — proceeded to add it to the ballot.
The union posits that the tax will «prevent the collapse of California healthcare and help fund California public K-14 education and state food assistance programs.»
BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS
California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers his final state budget plan at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento on May 14, 2026. (Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Billionaire Tax Now is confident the measure will pass, posting on X that «while a few controversial billionaires and their buddies in Sacramento want to see California’s hospitals close and tax breaks for billionaires protected – popular support is on our side.»
Meanwhile, some of Newsom’s detractors claim that his opposition to the measure is driven by a desire to appeal to potential presidential donors.
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Billionaire Tax Now reposted an X post by David Sirota, founder of the progressive investigative news outlet The Lever, in which he asserted that «Gavin Newsom is trying to protect 250 prospective 2028 presidential donors, even if that means 3 million of his constituents are medically bankrupted.»
Reached for comment, Newsom’s office directed Fox News Digital to his Substack and video.
gavin newsom, governors, taxes, california, bernie sanders, democratic party
INTERNACIONAL
House Democrat lashes out when grilled on whether socialist victories would threaten Dem unity
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Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., clashed with Fox News correspondent Chad Pergram on Capitol Hill while being pressed on whether Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates who won New York primaries this week could threaten Democratic unity and complicate House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ path to the speakership.
The exchange came after several socialist candidates won Democratic nominations in New York City this week, fueling questions about whether the party’s left flank could complicate Democrats’ messaging and create new headaches for Jeffries if Democrats win back control of the House.
Larson defended New York voters’ right to choose their nominees and repeatedly expressed confidence that Jeffries, D-N.Y., could manage any new ideological tension inside the House Democratic Caucus, while also saying he opposes antisemitism and agreeing that some DSA positions are not very American.
«Isn’t it going to create hassles here on Capitol Hill? For Jeffries?» Larson was asked.
SOCIALISTS CHEER ‘SHOCKWAVE’ PRIMARY NIGHT AS DSA-BACKED CANDIDATES WIN, ADVANCE ACROSS THE MAP
WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 5: Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., arrives for the House Ways and Means Committee «Hearing with the IRS Whistleblowers: Hunter Biden Investigation Obstruction in Their Own Words» in the Longworth House Office Building on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«The voters of New York make up their own mind. We don’t control voters of New York. In America, in a free Democratic-Republic, people get to choose their elective representatives,» Larson shot back. «The people of New York have made a decision. The people in Wyoming make decisions too, the people in other states make decisions. That’s the way democracy works.»
Pressed on whether DSA-affiliated candidates coming to Capitol Hill would create division and dissension inside the House Democratic Caucus, Larson said Jeffries will «bring everybody together,» arguing he has been able to adequately handle numerous challenges thus far and will do so again with anymore that come his way.
«Hakeem Jeffries is the greatest leader that we can have, because he will bring everybody together, as he has with the 11 separate, different caucuses and more in the Democratic caucus already,» Larson responded.
Larson was then pressed on whether the DSA-backed candidates could present a new kind of challenge for Jeffries, particularly as he tries to become Speaker.
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«There was some argument out there that, you know, if this was Nancy Pelosi some years ago at the height of her powers, she’d be able to finesse this — he’s never been Speaker,» Pergram posited to Larson.
«Well, she wasn’t Speaker for a long time either, but she became Speaker and she did an outstanding job. Jeffries is going to be an outstanding Speaker because of his ability to bring people together,» Larson said back.
«Is there any backlash in the caucus about — and again, these are folks from New York, [Jeffries] is from New York, right? Schumer’s from New York — that this could undercut some of them. If others in the party think that these folks are going to drag them too far to the left?» Pergram continued to press.
HAKEEM JEFFRIES CONFRONTED ON ‘YOU’RE NEXT’ CHANTS FOLLOWING NY DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST VICTORIES
Rep. John Larson-D, Conn, and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, greet fans as they walk to their seats at RFK stadium during the annual congressional baseball game one year in D.C. (Philip Scott Andrews/Roll Call/Getty Images)
«Hakeem Jeffries will be the Speaker of the House, plain and simple,» Larson shot back. «And why? Because he’s demonstrated his leadership and he’s held the most diverse caucus ever assembled in the history of the world together. And that’s what he’s great at, and that’s what it’ll continue to do.»
Larson was also pressed on whether Democrats would distance themselves from candidates or groups accused of holding antisemitic views.
«Will you stand by people if they have antisemitic views?» Pergram asked.
«The people in New York chose the candidates they did,» Larson replied.
When pressed again, Larson said, «Am I against antisemitism? If that’s your question,» making clear he opposed antisemitism while continuing to argue that voters had the right to choose their nominees.
DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER SLAMS MAMDANI, SAYS PARTY SHOULD HAVE ‘ZERO PATIENCE’ FOR ‘INTIFADA’ RHETORIC
Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King’s Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The exchange continued as Larson was grilled on the DSA statement that he said called for eliminating the Senate and having the House choose the president and the Supreme Court.
«That’s the DSA,» Larson said. «The people of New York decide who their elected officials are. The people of Connecticut decide who their elected officials are.»
Asked whether that sounded radical, Larson said, «A lot of people sound radical to me. Radical on the left. Radical on the right. What’s your point?»
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«Should you stand out and argue against saying, ‘Hey, we shouldn’t have people, you know, throw out the Senate. Eliminate the Senate? That’s not very American,» Pergram proposed back.
«I don’t think that’s very American either,» Larson said before he disengaged and took questions from another reporter.
democrats, democrats elections, socialism, democratic party, fox news, primary results
INTERNACIONAL
Trump amenazó con imponer aranceles del 100% a los países europeos que apliquen impuestos a los gigantes tecnológicos
El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump amenazó este viernes con imponer aranceles del 100% a las importaciones provenientes de los países europeos que establezcan un impuesto sobre los servicios digitales de grandes empresas tecnológicas de EE.UU., una iniciativa que actualmente se encuentra en debate dentro del bloque comunitario.
El anuncio fue realizado a través de Truth Social, la red social del mandatario, pocas horas después de que en el Parlamento Europeo volviera a discutirse la posibilidad de crear un gravamen común para compañías como Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta y Microsoft, con el objetivo de aumentar la recaudación del presupuesto europeo.
“Numerosos países europeos han estado debatiendo la inminente implementación de un impuesto a los servicios digitales aplicable a empresas estadounidenses. Algunos de estos países están a punto de llevarlo a cabo“, escribió Trump.
En ese mismo mensaje lanzó una advertencia que elevó la tensión entre ambas potencias comerciales. “Que esta declaración sirva para advertir que cualquier país que imponga dicho impuesto se enfrentará inmediatamente a un arancel del 100% sobre todos y cada uno de los productos enviados a los Estados Unidos de América“, afirmó. El logotipo de Google en un centro de investigación de la compañía en Mountain View, California. La empresa es una de las multinacionales tecnológicas que podrían quedar alcanzadas por el impuesto a los servicios digitales que analiza la Unión Europea. (Foto: Reuters/Carlos Barria)
El mandatario también sostuvo que esa medida prevalecería sobre cualquier entendimiento comercial vigente. “Este arancel prevalecerá sobre los acuerdos comerciales establecidos con dicho país, independientemente de si han sido implementados, firmados o no“, aseguró, al tiempo que remarcó que la sanción comercial ”se impondrá de inmediato“.
La amenaza llega apenas un día después de que los países de la Unión Europea aprobaran el acuerdo comercial negociado con Washington durante el último año. Ese entendimiento contempla que los productos industriales estadounidenses ingresen al mercado europeo sin pagar aranceles, mientras que las exportaciones del bloque hacia Estados Unidos queden sujetas a un gravamen máximo del 15%.
Leé también: Trump dijo que EE.UU. está “listo y dispuesto” para ayudar a Venezuela tras los dos terremotos
Sin embargo, el conflicto entre ambas partes está lejos de resolverse. Para la administración Trump, además de los aranceles existen las denominadas “barreras no arancelarias”, entre las que incluye regulaciones ambientales, normas digitales y políticas impositivas que, según Washington, perjudican especialmente a las empresas estadounidenses.
En ese escenario aparece el llamado Impuesto sobre los Servicios Digitales (Digital Service Tax), un tributo que varios gobiernos europeos impulsan bajo el argumento de que las grandes plataformas tecnológicas generan miles de millones de dólares en ingresos dentro de sus mercados, pero terminan tributando una proporción mucho menor al declarar sus ganancias en países con una carga fiscal reducida. Las oficinas de Microsoft en Issy-les-Moulineaux, en las afueras de París. (Foto: Reuters)
Desde la Casa Blanca consideran que ese impuesto discrimina a las empresas estadounidenses porque, en la práctica, alcanza principalmente a gigantes tecnológicos con sede en ese país.
En rigor, la respuesta de Bruselas no tardó en llegar. Un portavoz de la Comisión Europea rechazó la amenaza y sostuvo que el bloque responderá si Estados Unidos concreta la medida.
«Las medidas unilaterales contra políticas legítimas son injustificadas“, afirmó el funcionario europeo. Además, aseguró que la Unión Europea reaccionará ”rápidamente y con determinación» si Washington decide imponer nuevos aranceles.
El nuevo cruce se produce en un momento especialmente sensible para la industria tecnológica. Las tensiones comerciales con China y las dificultades en las cadenas globales de suministro derivadas de los conflictos en Medio Oriente ya afectaron la disponibilidad de componentes electrónicos y minerales estratégicos para el sector.
Leé también: Trump dijo que unos vándalos dañaron su estanque reflectante, pero unos documentos internos cuentan otra historia
Las principales empresas tecnológicas estadounidenses mantienen además una estrecha relación con Trump. Sus máximos ejecutivos respaldaron públicamente al mandatario durante su regreso a la Casa Blanca y realizaron importantes aportes económicos a su campaña, aunque algunas de las políticas comerciales impulsadas por el propio gobierno también terminaron impactando sobre sus costos de producción.
Ahora, la posibilidad de que Europa avance con un impuesto común a las multinacionales digitales amenaza con abrir un nuevo frente en la disputa comercial transatlántica, en momentos en que ambos bloques intentaban estabilizar su relación tras meses de negociaciones. Si ninguna de las partes cede, la pulseada podría derivar en una nueva escalada arancelaria con consecuencias para el comercio internacional y para sectores productivos a ambos lados del Atlántico.
Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, UE, aranceles
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Video emerged Friday showing hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of heroin, methamphetamine and other confiscated illegal drugs being set on fire in Burma .
More than 50 combined tons of those drugs, as well as opium, ketamine, marijuana and crystal meth – estimated to be worth $600 million – were set ablaze in the southeast Asian country to mark the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, according to The Associated Press.
This year, the street value of drugs destroyed was more than double last year’s total, said Police Lt. Col. Aung Myat Soe of Yangon’s Anti-Narcotics Police Force. In Yangon alone, some $321 million worth of 31 different types of drugs were set ablaze, Aung Myat Soe added.
HIDDEN TUNNEL DISCOVERED IN TIJUANA MAY HAVE SUPPORTED CROSS-BORDER TRAFFICKING OPERATIONS
Smoke and flame rise from burning illegal narcotics during a destruction ceremony marking the U.N.’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on the outskirts of Yangon, Burma, on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Thein Zaw/AP)
Footage taken in Yangon showed a massive array of drugs engulfed in a raging inferno, with thick black smoke billowing into the sky.
Burma has been a major source of illegal drugs destined for East and Southeast Asia, despite repeated efforts to crack down, and has long been one of the world’s largest producers of heroin and methamphetamine.
More than 50 tons of heroin, opium, ketamine, methamphetamine, marijuana and crystal meth were burned on Friday, June 26, 2026, in Burma, to mark the U.N.’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. (AP)
Violent political unrest in Burma following the military takeover in 2021 — which has led into a civil war between the military government and its pro-democracy opponents, as well as ethnic armed groups — has caused an increase in drug production, experts told the AP.
FEDS SEIZE $6.4 MILLION WORTH OF COCAINE ABOARD OIL TANKER AT PORT OF LOS ANGELES, ARREST SUSPECTED CARTEL SMUGGLER
A police officer stands in front of seized illegal narcotics during a destruction ceremony marking the U.N.’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on the outskirts of Yangon, Burma, on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Thein Zaw/AP)
In January, the military government claimed the country’s largest-ever seizures of illicit drugs and drug-manufacturing equipment, taken from a total of 12 drug production sites during a series of raids in the northern part of Shan state.
The U.N. says its June 26 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is «an expression of its determination to strengthen action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of drug abuse.»
«Supported each year by individuals, communities, and various organizations all over the world, this global observance aims to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society,» the U.N. added.
Firefighters spray water in front of illegal narcotics being burnt during a destruction ceremony in Burma on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Thein Zaw/AP)
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«Global drug use and the number of drugs on the market have been increasing in the past decades. The century-long dominance of heroin in illicit global opioid markets is increasingly being challenged by changes in the illegal supply of opioids,» it added. «Production, seizures and use of cocaine continue to rise, while low costs of manufacture and reduced risks of detection of synthetic drugs are contributing to their increase on illicit drug markets.»
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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