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Former ‘Million Dollar Listing’ Star Josh Altman Joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to break down California’s slow post-fire rebuilding process and warn that a proposed wealth tax could drive billionaires and jobs out of the state.
Luxury real estate broker Josh Altman warned California’s proposed estate tax it could drive a number of billionaires out of state and trigger a damaging “trickle down” effect.
“There are 200 to 250 billionaires in California, more than any other state. However, there are also 40 million people in California, 23 (million) of whom are eligible to vote. If this comes to a vote, there’s no way the billionaires are going to come out on top here, and that’s a problem,” the former “Million Dollar Listing” host told FOX Business.
Discuss the matter on Wednesday at “Varney & Co.”, 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 the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas on November 3, 2023. (Chelsea Guglielmino/Bravo via Getty Images/Getty Images)
While the proposed measure would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on the net worth of California residents worth more than $1 billion, he argued that it’s not billionaires who will suffer the most.
“It’s the trickle-down effect. It’s the people, the hundreds of thousands of people who work for these billionaires. It’s the trillions of dollars in taxes what are we going to lose,” he said.
An unfurled California flag waves in Oceanside, California on October 24, 2017. (Mike Blake/Reuters/Reuters)
“You know what a billionaire told me once? He said, ‘Do you know the difference between 100 million and a billion? Nothing.’
Under the proposed ballot initiative, the single tax would be due in 2027, and taxpayers could spread payments over five years with additional non-deductible charges, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
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FOX Business host Marcus Lemonis discusses billionaires fleeing California to avoid a proposed estate tax on “The Bottom Line.”
Kristen Altus of FOX Business contributed to this report.
