Commentary
It’s getting more dangerous to make money and create jobs in California.
Under Assembly Bill 259, by Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-San Jose) the state would “impose an annual tax at a rate of 1.5 percent of a resident of this state’s worldwide net worth” in excess of $1 billion starting in 2024.
Starting in 2026, the threshold would drop to just $50 million of worth, taxed at 1 percent.
Note it’s a “worldwide” tax. So property in other states or countries would be taxed. That would be a headache right there. How does one assess value in another country, with different systems of valuation, even different languages? Maybe you could do it in Singapore, which has an advanced economy where many people speak English. But how about investing in cobalt mines in the Congo, subject to price fluctuations, local upheavals, and the interference of Communist Chinese mining interests?…