Former ‘Million Dollar Listing’ star Josh Altman joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to halt California’s slow rebuilding process from the wildfire and warn that a proposed wealth tax could drive billionaires and jobs out of the state.
Luxury real estate broker Josh Altman warned that California’s proposed wealth tax could drive a number of billionaires out of the state and trigger a damaging “trickle down” effect.
“There are approximately 200 to 250 billionaires in California, more than any other state. However, there are also 40 million people in California, 23 [million] who have the right to vote. If it comes to the polls, there’s no chance the billionaires will win here, and that’s a problem,” the former “Million Dollar Listing” star told FOX Business.
Discuss the issue Wednesday on “Varney & Cie” Altman said seven billionaires he knows personally have already left California for other parts of the United States, including Las Vegas and Florida.
Josh Altman speaks at BravoCon from Caesars Forum in Las Vegas on November 3, 2023. (Chelsea Guglielmino/Bravo via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Although the proposed measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on California residents’ net worth worth more than $1 billion, he argued that it’s not billionaires who would suffer the most.
“It’s the trickle-down effect. It’s the people, the hundreds of thousands of people who work for these billionaires. trillion dollars in taxes that we are going to lose,” he said.
An unfurled California flag flies in Oceanside, California on October 24, 2017. (Mike Blake/Reuters / Reuters)
“You know what a billionaire once said to me? He said, ‘You know what the difference is between 100 million and a billion? Nothing.’ Everything will be fine. It’s the people who need it who don’t have it, and we’re driving them out of California. »
Under the proposed ballot initiative, the one-time tax would be due in 2027 and taxpayers could spread payments over five years with additional nondeductible fees, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
FOX Business host Marcus Lemonis discusses billionaires fleeing California to avoid a proposed wealth tax on “The Bottom Line.”
FOX Business’ Kristen Altus contributed to this report.
