纽森公开支持 42 号提案：不仅要狙击亿万富翁税，还要修宪永久禁止加州开征财富税
萨克拉门托讯——加州州长加文·纽森 10 月 9 日（周五）宣布支持 42 号提案：一项旨在让亿万富翁税“胎死腹中”、并通过修宪永久禁止加州未来开征财富税的反税公投案。《华尔街日报》10 日报道了这一背书，使本已撕裂民主党的加州税战再添重磅变量。
42 号提案由谷歌联合创始人谢尔盖·布林等人资助、已筹集数千万美元竞选资金，目标直指 40 号提案——医疗工会提出的、对净资产 10 亿美元以上加州居民一次性征收 5% 财富税的公投案，初衷是弥补特朗普去年签署法案后联邦医疗补助（Medicaid）的大幅削减。纽森在声明中说：“加州人理应让自己的退休金和毕生积蓄免于新的州税，这样这些钱在他们需要时才会在。”
但 42 号提案的射程远不止狙击 40 号提案。它将修改加州宪法，禁止对除房地产以外的金融资产或个人财产开征新税——涵盖养老金与 401K 账户（领取前）、投资、金融资产、企业持股、艺术品收藏等一切形式的个人财富。支持者称这是保护中产退休储蓄；批评者指出，目前根本没有针对中产退休账户征税的提案，而 40 号提案本身也豁免了多种退休账户。
纽森的立场与本党公开唱反调：加州民主党今年 8 月已投票支持亿万富翁税，多个大工会也反对 42 号提案。纽森自去年起就反对该税，理由是可能逼走州内最大的纳税人。11 月 3 日，两项提案将同场交锋——若双双通过，一场宪法层面的法律大战几乎不可避免，而这场“富人税”之争也被视为全美财富税辩论的预演。
Newsom backs Prop 42: not just killing the billionaire tax, but amending the constitution to ban wealth taxes in California for good
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday, Oct. 9, endorsed Proposition 42, a ballot measure aimed at killing the proposed billionaire tax and amending the state constitution to prohibit wealth taxes in California permanently. The Wall Street Journal reported the endorsement on Oct. 10, adding a heavyweight twist to a tax battle that has already split the Democratic Party.
Prop. 42, funded in part by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and backed by tens of millions of dollars in campaign money, targets Proposition 40 — a healthcare-workers union proposal for a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California residents with $1 billion or more in assets, intended to offset steep Medicaid cuts signed into law last year by President Trump. "Californians deserve to have their retirement and life savings protected from new state taxes," Newsom said in a statement released through the campaign.
But Prop. 42's reach goes well beyond sinking Prop. 40. It would change the California constitution to prohibit new taxes on financial assets or personal property other than real estate — covering pensions and 401(k) accounts before retirees draw on them, investments, financial assets, business holdings, art collections, and all other forms of personal wealth. Supporters call it protection for middle-class retirement savings; critics note there is no proposal to tax middle-class retirement accounts, and the billionaire tax itself exempts many kinds of retirement accounts.
Newsom's position puts him at odds with his own party: the California Democratic Party voted in August to endorse the billionaire tax, and several large unions oppose Prop. 42. Newsom has opposed the tax since last year, arguing it could drive the state's largest taxpayers to flee. On Nov. 3, voters will decide on both measures — and if both pass, a constitutional legal battle is all but certain, in what is being watched as a preview of the national wealth-tax debate.
图片来源：加州州长 Gavin Newsom 官方照片，加州副州长办公室，公有领域（Wikimedia Commons）
