Google co-founder Sergey Brin contributes $102 million to campaign against California billionaire tax

Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, has contributed a total of $102 million to Building a Better California, a political action committee that opposes Proposition 40, a measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on California’s 200 billionaires. The contribution makes Brin the single largest donor to the anti-tax campaign, which has raised more than $187 million, while supporters of the measure have collected about $32 million.

Proposition 40, slated for the November ballot, would direct 90% of the tax revenue to the state’s health-care system and the remaining 10% to education, food assistance and administrative costs. With a net worth near $260 billion, Brin could face a tax bill of roughly $13 billion if the measure passes.

Other high-profile tech investors, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, have also donated to groups opposing the tax. Governor Gavin Newsom has warned that the levy could reduce the state’s tax base and cut funding for education, public safety and social services.

Brin, who now lists Nevada as his residence, has reportedly purchased a $51 million home near Miami Beach. Analysts note that while the six billionaires identified as potentially relocating would together generate about $27 billion in state tax revenue, their combined income-tax contributions in California amount to roughly $4.1 billion annually, or 0.2% of their collective $2 trillion net worth. A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper estimates that even a mass exodus of California’s wealthiest residents would take decades to offset the projected $100 billion revenue from the tax over five years.