Gavin Newsom’s balancing act on taxing the rich
Newsom talks progressive on taxing the rich but won’t back the one wealth tax measure actually headed to California voters.
Gavin Newsom faces an awkward test this November: a ballot measure that would impose a new wealth tax on California’s richest residents. The governor, eyeing a 2028 presidential bid, has spent years positioning himself as a national Democrat who stands up to billionaires. Yet he refuses to endorse the very policy his party’s base demands.
The contradiction is glaring. Newsom understands that many Democrats nationwide crave aggressive “eat the rich” taxation. He just cannot endorse the meal when it lands on his own plate in the form of a constitutional amendment that would rewrite California’s tax code to target accumulated wealth rather than annual income.
California already operates one of the most progressive income tax systems in the country, relying heavily on its high earners. A wealth tax would shift the burden further, hitting net worth instead of yearly earnings. Proponents argue this closes loopholes for billionaires who earn little taxable income. Newsom’s silence suggests he sees the political and economic risks more clearly than the activists pushing the measure.
The governor’s balancing act reveals the limits of performative progressivism. He rails against national GOP tax cuts for the wealthy while declining to throw his weight behind a homegrown effort that would do far more to “soak” California’s millionaires and billionaires. That hesitation speaks volumes about what happens when rhetoric meets actual ballots and budgets.
What remains unanswered is whether Newsom’s national ambitions will force him to pick a side before November or whether he will continue threading the needle between coastal activist demands and the realities of governing a state that already exports its wealthy residents at an impressive clip.
Original reporting: CalMatters.
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