Neil H. Buchanan (Florida), Tax : The Billionaire Tax: Dispassionate Analysis of a Policy that We Desperately Need (reviewing Brian Galle, David Gamage, Emmanuel Saez, and Darien Shanske, Expert Report on the California 2026 Billionaire Tax: Revenue, Economic, and Constitutional Analysis):
California and New York City are the current epicenters of efforts to slightly increase the taxes paid by the extremely rich. Unsurprisingly, those extremely rich people are willing to use their considerable resources and power to try to convince voters and lawmakers that such taxes are a terrible idea. The anguished responses from the anti-tax side can be almost amusingly shrill, with one billionaire recently saying this on the record: “I must say that I consider the phrase ‘tax the rich’ — quote, tax the rich — when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs.”
An especially forgiving person might call this a matter of opinion, I suppose, but it takes a particularly narrow view of one’s self-interest to equate calls to tax the wealthiest people in the world to the horrors of racism. In any event, with the rhetoric running so hot, it is essential to be able to rely on a measured, objective analysis of the actual proposals that are under consideration. Fortunately, Professors Brian Galle, David Gamage, Emmanuel Saez, and Darien Shanske (henceforth GGSS) have stepped up and provided a clear, exhaustive, and mercifully brief report on California’s proposed Billionaire Tax.
GGSS’s short report is a master class in clear and persuasive refutation. Section headings include: “Will it hurt the businesses that the billionaires own?”, “Won’t billionaires leave California to avoid the tax?”, “Have some billionaires already left?”, “Will billionaires or future billionaires be deterred from coming?”, “Won’t the wealthy be able to hide their wealth and evade the tax?”, “Will new entrepreneurs be discouraged from creating new businesses?” and “If some California billionaires get upset at having to pay 5% of their wealth for this one-time tax and leave the state, won’t this be detrimental to future tax revenue in California?” along with some additional, more technical questions. In each case, the answer is “no.” Read more here…
