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Attorney Alex Spiro has written to California Governor Gavin Newsom urging him to halt the proposed billionaire tax.
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Spiro said his clients would be “permanently relocated” if the measure becomes law.
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While Spiro did not disclose which clients he was referring to, he has previously represented high-profile billionaires and celebrities.
California’s proposed billionaire tax threatens wealthy people to flee, according to a letter from power lawyer Alex Spiro to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In a Dec. 11 letter to Business Insider, Spiro expressed his opposition to the proposed tax on behalf of his clients, whom he described as “California residents who would be subject to the proposed billionaire tax law.”
“This will trigger an exodus of capital and innovation from California,” Spiro wrote. “Our clients have made it clear that if this tax is paid, they will relocate permanently.”
The measure proposes that California residents with assets in excess of $1 billion pay a one-time 5% tax on the value of their assets. If the proposal gets enough signatures, it will appear on the state ballot in November 2026. If passed, it would apply retroactively to all California residents starting January 1, 2026.
While Newsom said he opposes the tax and will “fight it,” he would not have the power to veto it if it passes as a ballot measure.
Some wealthy Californians, including venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Google co-founder Larry Page, have considered shrinking their operations in the state, the New York Times reported. Page and Thiel did not respond to Business Insider when asked if they were represented by Spiro.
Over the weekend, billionaire Palmer Luckey took to X to express his opposition to the measure.
“I made money from my first company and paid hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes on it,” the Anduril co-founder wrote. “Now my co-founders and I have to figure out how to come up with billions of dollars in cash.”
While it’s unclear which clients the lawyers mentioned in their letter to Newsom, Spiro’s past client list includes billionaires and A-list celebrities. He has previously represented Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z and Elon Musk.
Read the full letter below:
Re: Constitutional questions about proposed billionaire tax law
Read the original article on Business Insider