Josh Altman sounds alarm on California wealth tax, says workers would pay the price

Luxury real estate broker Josh Altman warned that California’s proposed wealth tax could drive a number of billionaires out of the state and trigger a damaging “trickle-down” effect.

“There’s about 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 hits the ballot, there is no way that the billionaires come out on top here, and that’s an issue,” the former “Million Dollar Listing” star told FOX Business.

Discussing the matter Wednesday on “Varney & Co.,” Altman said that seven billionaires he personally knows have already left California for other parts of the U.S., including Las Vegas and Florida.

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Though the proposed measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California residents worth more than $1 billion, he argued it is not the billionaires who will suffer most.

“It’s the trickle-down effect. It’s people, the hundreds of thousands of people that work for these billionaires. It’s the trillion dollars in taxes that we’re going to lose,” he said.

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“You know what a billionaire said to me once? He said, ‘You know what the difference is between 100 million and a billion? Nothing.’ They’ll be fine. It’s people that need them that are not, and we’re running them out of California.”

Under the proposed ballot initiative, the one-time tax would be due in 2027, and taxpayers could spread payments over five years with additional nondeductible charges, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

FOX Business’ Kristen Altus contributed to this report.