Wealthy tech execs start 'openly conspiring' against Dem lawmaker over 'modest wealth tax'
Category: News & Politics
Via: john-russell • 11 months ago • 12 commentsBy: Alexander Willis (Raw Story)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) walks ahead of a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on a stopgap spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown that would otherwise begin October 1, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. U.S., September 19, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
A proposed California wealth tax has sent some billionaires scrambling , and on Saturday night, prompted a group of wealthy tech entrepreneurs to begin " openly conspiring " against a Democratic lawmaker who supports it.
Dubbed the California Billionaire Tax Act , the proposed ballot measure, if adopted by voters next year, would impose a 5% tax on the net worth of California billionaires, payable over five years.
News of the proposal led some billionaires - including pro-Trump tech billionaire Peter Thiel - to consider leaving the Golden State , while others, like tech entrepreneurs Martin Casado and Garry Tan, responded with talks of forcing Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) - a strong proponent of the wealth tax - out of office.
"Beyond being totally out of touch with [the moderate] faction of his base, [Khanna has] devolved into an obnoxious jerk," wrote Casado, a wealthy tech entrepreneur and investor, in a social media post Saturday on X. "At least that makes voting him the f--- out all the more gratifying."
Tan, a wealthy venture capitalist and founder of the California venture capital fund Initialized Capital, responded to Casado's rant with a simple message: "time to primary him," he wrote on X.
"Count me in," Casado responded. "Happy to be involved at any level."
Political commentator Krystal Ball, former Democratic congressional candidate, former MSNBC reporter and current host of "Breaking Points," lashed out Sunday at both Casado and Tan for publicly discussing the use of their wealth and influence to shape an election's outcome.
"Tech oligarchs are now openly conspiring against Ro Khanna because he dared to back a modest wealth tax," Ball wrote in a social media post on X.
Both Casado and Tan have made or shared several posts condemning the proposed wealth tax, with Tan writing in a separate post that he believed "corruption" should be targeted before increasing taxes on the wealthy.
"I would go say corruption must be solved before wealth taxes," Tan wrote in a social media post Saturday. "When will we have a strong governor in Sacramento who brings the true anti-corruption fire to all of decrepit nonprofit rot and death of state capacity? Start with anti-corruption."
Tan's net worth is estimated to be around $300 million , and while Casado's net worth has not been publicly disclosed, he's presumed to be wealthy following the sale of the tech company he founded, Nicira, for $1.26 billion in 2012.
Tech oligarchs are now openly conspiring against @RoKhanna because he dared to back a modest wealth tax. https://t.co/pCh170Oa3v
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) December 28, 2025
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How psychotic do you have to be to instigate or join a political vendetta against someone who proposes you pay a tax that reduces your net worth to 950 million dollars?
Depends on what has to be sold to obtain enough money to pay the wealth surcharge. Billionaires don't have $50 million in ready cash lying around.
Who owns the $112 billion in California bonds? Would Newsom put the wealth surcharge revenue into a fund that would retire bonds? Or will Newsom use the revenue for populist spending to score points for a Presidential campaign? Newsom has run out the term limit clock in California so he needs to find something else to do. A Democrat resorting to political stunts to remain politically relevant would be unsurprising.
If billionaires cant afford to pay taxes why should anyone? They dont have 50 million laying around? Then get it.
Way to ignore the forest for the trees. So what business or part of a business would need to be sold to raise the cash? How might that impact the people who work there? What happens with their lives when the company they work for is forced to be sold.
And what is the impact of the tax base two years down the road when those companies and people leave for states or countries where they don't have to pay that tax?
So you are saying that individual with a net worth of a billion dollars cannot afford a 50 million dollar tax.
If its so harmful to business why risk making him pay any tax at all? Let them do whatever they want.
Why not answer the question? It's obvious that a person with a net worth of a $Billion or more can afford a $50 million tax. But do you honestly think they just have that lying around in cash? What asset would they have to liquidate in order to raise the cash in order to pay that tax and what other impacts can liquidating an asset have? Instead of just spouting a sound bite why don't you think of impacts to the action.
What are you are saying is that we cant tax the wealthy because they dont like it and they will find a way to avoid it. I ask again, what kind of psychopath do you have to be to try to ruin the political career of someone whose tax proposal will leave you with "only" 950 million dollars. (or more)?
Not worth continuing this as you're refusing to reply to the actual question and instead continue down your partisan rant. Guess we're done here.
Progressive politicians don't understand incentives. Dog bites man.
see comment 1
A one-time surcharge on balance sheet wealth doesn't seem to qualify, on a performative level, as a tax. Why not simply invoke imminent domain laws to seize property? Since California Democrats seem to favor dirty tricks, Newson could seize property and sell it back to the owners.
Seems as though this is a tacit admission that Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn't know what he is doing. California's government budget has been a multi-billion dollar roller coaster of surpluses and deficits depending upon Wall Street performance and economic fortunes of the wealthy. There hasn't been any attempt to create a steady source of revenue to end dependence on the boom/bust cycle of dependence on the wealthy.
Why would we want the Federal budget to following California's example? If Democrats were really serious about taxing wealth then the SALT deduction would be eliminated. The purpose of the SALT deduction was to protect the wealthy against property taxes -- the real wealth tax.
Newsom's gimmicks wouldn't work at the national level. And these organized crime tactics wouldn't be any better than what we already have.
A favorite tactic of Roman dictators as the Republic fell apart. Seems like something Newsom would embrace.