Taxes
Blog
Another Tax That Backfired
Passed in 2022 by nearly 58% of Angeleno voters, Measure ULA initially imposes an additional 4% tax on the sales of any homes or commercial properties, not just mansions, valued at more than $5.3 million. The rate on sales of properties sold at more than $10.6 million rises to 5.5%. The dollars coming in are dedicated ...
Blog
Death by a Thousand Cuts: Andrew Gruel on the Cost of Regulations for California Restaurants
The challenge is not a single overwhelming regulation, it is accumulation. California layers rule upon rule, each one defensible on its own. Over time, those requirements reshape how restaurants hire, price, expand (or not), and compete. What appears manageable on paper becomes costly in practice. Restaurants are high-transaction, high-labor businesses. ...
California
Empty home tax failed elsewhere — why try it here?
Maybe 2026 is the year of the tax hike in a state where taxes are already an existential burden. Among the many proposed hikes is San Diego Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera’s call for up to a $15,000 annual levy on empty second homes in the city through a proposed June ballot ...
Blog
Sanders, Wealth Tax Proponents Could Chase $30 Billion in Revenue Out of State
“The billionaire class no longer sees itself as part of American society,” said Sanders, a Vermont socialist and winner of the 2020 California Democratic presidential primary by 8 percentage points over eventual nominee and president Joe Biden. “They see themselves as something separate and apart, like the oligarchs of the 18th century, ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal
Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal Wayne Winegarden March 2026 Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer supports “a special election to raise corporate taxes in his first year as governor.” Specifically, he favors removing the Proposition 13 tax limitations for commercial properties – an idea referred to ...
Blog
Does California Need Billionaires?
If supporters are able to rack up 874 ,641 signatures, the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. Should it pass, it will levy “a one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth.” Rather than waiting until voters make their decision, a few billionaires have already left California, including PayPal and ...
Commentary
Proposed Patent Tax Threatens the Research That Powers Growth
Is federally funded science really a raw deal for taxpayers? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seems to think so. “If we fund it and they invent a patent,” he recently said, “the United States of America taxpayer should get half the benefit.” Lutnick is proposing a 50% excise tax on the ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: The Taxing Wealth Tax
The Taxing Wealth Tax Wayne Winegarden February 2026 To his credit, Governor Newsom is vowing to stop the wealth tax. As we noted in our response to Governor Newsom’s January budget, just the possibility that a 5 percent wealth tax will appear on the November ballot is having a chilling ...
Blog
Tough Times Ahead for California in 2026
But he won’t be alone. Difficult times are ahead for all Californians. According to Indian government data, that country’s GDP has reached $4.18 trillion in U.S. dollars. By 2030, India’s GDP is projected to be $7.3 trillion. The most recent numbers from the International Monetary Fund, posted in April 2025, has California at $4.1 trillion. The UCLA Anderson School ...
Commentary
Proposed patent tax offers a dangerous ‘solution’ to a non-existent problem
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick believes taxpayers are getting short-changed by America’s patent system. Last year, he argued that the federal government should be entitled to 50% of the revenue universities earn from licensing the patented discoveries they’ve made with help from federally funded research grants. Lutnick is deeply mistaken. ...
Another Tax That Backfired
Passed in 2022 by nearly 58% of Angeleno voters, Measure ULA initially imposes an additional 4% tax on the sales of any homes or commercial properties, not just mansions, valued at more than $5.3 million. The rate on sales of properties sold at more than $10.6 million rises to 5.5%. The dollars coming in are dedicated ...
Death by a Thousand Cuts: Andrew Gruel on the Cost of Regulations for California Restaurants
The challenge is not a single overwhelming regulation, it is accumulation. California layers rule upon rule, each one defensible on its own. Over time, those requirements reshape how restaurants hire, price, expand (or not), and compete. What appears manageable on paper becomes costly in practice. Restaurants are high-transaction, high-labor businesses. ...
Empty home tax failed elsewhere — why try it here?
Maybe 2026 is the year of the tax hike in a state where taxes are already an existential burden. Among the many proposed hikes is San Diego Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera’s call for up to a $15,000 annual levy on empty second homes in the city through a proposed June ballot ...
Sanders, Wealth Tax Proponents Could Chase $30 Billion in Revenue Out of State
“The billionaire class no longer sees itself as part of American society,” said Sanders, a Vermont socialist and winner of the 2020 California Democratic presidential primary by 8 percentage points over eventual nominee and president Joe Biden. “They see themselves as something separate and apart, like the oligarchs of the 18th century, ...
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal
Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal Wayne Winegarden March 2026 Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer supports “a special election to raise corporate taxes in his first year as governor.” Specifically, he favors removing the Proposition 13 tax limitations for commercial properties – an idea referred to ...
Does California Need Billionaires?
If supporters are able to rack up 874 ,641 signatures, the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. Should it pass, it will levy “a one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth.” Rather than waiting until voters make their decision, a few billionaires have already left California, including PayPal and ...
Proposed Patent Tax Threatens the Research That Powers Growth
Is federally funded science really a raw deal for taxpayers? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seems to think so. “If we fund it and they invent a patent,” he recently said, “the United States of America taxpayer should get half the benefit.” Lutnick is proposing a 50% excise tax on the ...
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: The Taxing Wealth Tax
The Taxing Wealth Tax Wayne Winegarden February 2026 To his credit, Governor Newsom is vowing to stop the wealth tax. As we noted in our response to Governor Newsom’s January budget, just the possibility that a 5 percent wealth tax will appear on the November ballot is having a chilling ...
Tough Times Ahead for California in 2026
But he won’t be alone. Difficult times are ahead for all Californians. According to Indian government data, that country’s GDP has reached $4.18 trillion in U.S. dollars. By 2030, India’s GDP is projected to be $7.3 trillion. The most recent numbers from the International Monetary Fund, posted in April 2025, has California at $4.1 trillion. The UCLA Anderson School ...
Proposed patent tax offers a dangerous ‘solution’ to a non-existent problem
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick believes taxpayers are getting short-changed by America’s patent system. Last year, he argued that the federal government should be entitled to 50% of the revenue universities earn from licensing the patented discoveries they’ve made with help from federally funded research grants. Lutnick is deeply mistaken. ...