SAN FRANCISCO — Following reports that Meta reached an arrangement designed to keep CEO Mark Zuckerberg in California for eight years, TURN Campaign Manager Igor Volsky issued a statement highlighting how the move underscores billionaires’ ability to manage and pay Proposition 40’s one-time wealth tax rather than leaving the state:
“Mark Zuckerberg just proved the point economists and experts have been making all along: Prop 40 is not a draconian or nefarious plot that will cause billionaires to flee the state, but rather a run-of-the-mill tax that billionaires will barely feel in their daily lives. Billionaires have plenty of money, and will stay in California regardless of whether Prop 40 passes.
“This is exactly why the opposition’s scare tactics about an inevitable exodus don’t hold up. Billionaires like Zuckerberg have armies of lawyers, bankers, and financial advisers who help them meet their tax obligation—just as billionaires like Sergey Brin have found hundreds of millions of dollars to spend fighting this measure at the ballot box instead.
“The contrast is stark: A handful of the wealthiest people in California are pouring $300 million to block this one-time tax rather than contributing a small fraction of their fortunes to protect health care, emergency rooms, and vital public services for millions of residents. Everyday working families pay their taxes every single year. California’s ultra-wealthy, including Zuckerberg, can and will afford to do the same.”