In response to a recently proposed wealth tax in California that would apply retroactively to certain former residents of the state, U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) is leading legislation that would prohibit any state from imposing such a tax.
“California’s proposed wealth tax is an unprecedented attempt to chase down people who have already left as a result of the state’s poor policies,” Rep. Kiley said on Feb. 18. “As a result, many of our state’s leading job creators are leaving preemptively.”
“No state should be allowed to reach back in time and impose a new tax on someone who no longer lives there,” he added. “That is fundamentally unfair.”
The proposed 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, which proponents are aiming to place on the ballot in November, would impose a 5 percent tax on the assets of individuals with a net worth of $1 billion or more who resided in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Several business leaders have announced they are leaving California in response to the wealth tax proposal, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, according to Rep. Kiley.
The congressman said he would formally introduce the Keep Jobs in California Act of 2026 on Friday to prohibit a state from imposing a retroactive tax on assets of nonresidents. If enacted, the bill would be in effect as of Jan. 1, 2026.