California Gov. Newsom proposes national billionaire tax and AI equity fund while opposing state ballot measure

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a national minimum tax on billionaires and individuals with a net worth of at least $100 million. He also called for a national public equity fund that would give Americans a stake in the artificial intelligence industry and measures to close tax loopholes for the ultra-wealthy.

Newsom made the proposals in a Substack post and video on Friday. He wrote that 10% of the people in this country own two-thirds of the wealth.

Newsom opposes a proposed one-time 5% tax on the assets of Californians whose net worth exceeds $1.1 billion. The California initiative would require the state to spend 90% of new revenue on healthcare and split the remaining 10% between education and food assistance programs. Xavier Becerra opposed the California billionaire tax proposal.

Rep. Ro Khanna and Tom Steyer backed the effort.