Entrepreneur who fled CA rips new progressive push that may follow him to Texas: 'Fundamentally un-American’
California Democrats consider new wealth tax that could impact people who moved out of state
California weighs new wealth tax affecting some former residents
Managing partner of 8VC Joe Lonsdale joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss how the tax would affect America's most wealthy and why the state is a 'total mess.'
California's residents whose net worth is greater than $1 billion could be taxed an additional 1.5% if progressive Democrats' latest wealth tax push gets approved.
The proposal would additionally force those who recently moved out of California to still pay the state's wealth tax.
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS CONSIDER WEALTH TAX — INCLUDING FOR PEOPLE WHO MOVED OUT OF STATE
Managing partner of 8VC Joe Lonsdale, a former California resident, joined "Fox & Friends" to share his thoughts on California's "ridiculous" tax proposal.
"It's fundamentally un-American. You know, even the French lost a bunch of millionaires and billionaires. You know, this is really more a theatrical production going on in California. This is one of the most mismanaged states there is, right? The top 1% already pay about half the taxes in their most progressive state," Lonsdale, who recently moved to Texas, explained to co-host Steve Doocy.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"The state's a total mess. And what they're doing here is they're signaling something crazy, and they're probably going to compromise and tax the billionaires more some other way. But it's really ridiculous," Lonsdale said Wednesday.
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If passed, the wealth tax could take effect as early as January 2024. By 2026, the threshold for being taxed would drop, and those with a worldwide net worth exceeding $50 million would be hit with a 1% annual tax on wealth, while billionaires would still be taxed 1.5%.
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Co-host Steve Doocy asked Lonsdale about his reasoning for moving from California to the Lone Star State, to which he explained that there were several things that have gone "culturally wrong" in California that drove him out.
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"It's really hard to build there. It's really expensive to hire people there. You're basically either some form of a billionaire or some form of service worker who's driving two hours, you know, to work for them. Not a healthy place to raise kids," Lonsdale said.
Progressive Democrats in California want to impose a wealth tax that would further burden wealthy residents and those who have recently moved out of the state. (istock / iStock)
California's Silicon Valley, which is home to several massive technology companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook, has also seen a cultural shift. Lonsdale noted that technology development has "spread throughout the country," allowing other states like Texas to get a piece of U.S. technology profits.
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"Technology… has spread all throughout our country. We can build things in defense and logistics and bio from so many different states. And Texas is a much healthier place to base your business in California these days," he continued.
Sean Hannity: Gavin Newsom can't wait to be king
Fox News host Sean Hannity says Democrats want to bring California failures to the rest of the country in Tuesday's opening monologue.
"It's something where you maybe [find] the best technology talents in Silicon Valley. You might even need their help to start something, but you're certainly not going to scale it there. You're certainly not going to build a big business that stays there. As soon as you can, with these kinds of people in charge, you're going to get out somewhere less corrupt," Lonsdale concluded.
Fox News' Aaron Kliegman contributed to this report.