WSJ: The Hardest Part About Being a Billionaire in California: Proving You Left
A proposed billionaire tax has some of the richest Californians eyeing the exits. First they’ll have to contend with the state’s dogged tax collectors.
California has one of the nation’s highest personal income-tax rates on high earners. It’s also home to officials who pore through phone logs, look for country-club memberships and even double-check visits to the dentist—all to figure out what really functions as home.
The state relies heavily on high earners. In 2023, more than one-sixth of its personal income tax revenue came from the top 0.1% of earners, or about 17,500 filers.
Consciously uncoupling from California has become a hot topic thanks to a proposed, one-time, 5% tax on billionaires’ assets.
Previous Coverage and Commentary:
- Washington Post: Rich people are Leaving California
- Galle et al.: Expert Report on Valuation of Controlling Shares of Publicly Traded Companies Under the California Billionaire Tax Act
- NYT: Newsom Vows to Stop Proposed Billionaire Tax in California
- Galle, Gamage & Shanske: Correcting the Record: Responding to Some Legal Arguments About the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act
- Washington Post: California will miss billionaires when they’re gone
- WSJ: Threat of California Billionaire Tax Draws Criticism From Ultrawealthy
- Tax Notes and Shanske on California’s Proposed Billionaire’s Tax
- WSJ: The California Campaign to Introduce a First-of-Its-Kind Billionaire’s Tax
- Brian D. Galle, David Gamage & Darien Shanske, Money Moves: Taxing the Wealthy at the State Level, 113 Calif. L. Rev. 635 (2025)
- Andrew Appleby, No Migration Without Taxation: State Exit Taxes, 60 Harv. J. on Legis. 55 (2023)
