Brin and Schmidt Drop Millions to Block California's 5% Billionaire Wealth Tax
Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt are spending significant capital—with Brin donating $25 million and Schmidt adding $1.02 million—to lobby against the proposed California Billionaire Tax Act, a measure targeting assets exceeding $1 billion.
The discourse pits advocates for state revenue against critics of wealth taxation. Some users, like Bishma, question the ethics of spending fortunes to avoid contributing to public resources. Conversely, others argue the tax is minimal, pointing out that even a 5% levy leaves the ultra-rich with staggering amounts, as suggested by unmagical. A sharp critique from itsathursday suggests that the very act of lobbying proves the immense scale of the wealth they are trying to shield.
The consensus is that the debate centers on fundamental ownership rights: the state’s right to tax assets versus the right to accumulate untaxed wealth. The fault lines run between legal maneuvering against the tax and philosophical disagreement over resource distribution.
Key Points
#1Lobbying expenditure confirms massive wealth.
itsathursday argues that spending millions on lobbying is proof of the sheer magnitude of the wealth being protected.
#2Taxation is an ethical quandary.
Bishma questioned the ethics of spending vast sums to avoid funding essential public services.
#3The tax is financially negligible to the wealthy.
unmagical quantified the potential tax, implying that even a 5% hit leaves the individuals with unimaginable sums.
#4Legal procedure is distinct from legislation.
qyron noted that challenging a law in Constitutional Court is a distinct legal mechanism from a bill passing through standard legislative votes.
#5Lobbying against taxes is a global practice.
CompactFlax pointed out that affluent groups lobbying against taxes is not unique to the United States.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.