Sergey Brin spends $500K to fight tax targeting companies with high-paid executives

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is continuing his foray into California politics with a newly reported donation to a group fighting against a proposed tax in San Francisco that would hit companies with high-paid executives in the tech hub.

A political contribution filing submitted on Wednesday revealed that Brin donated $500,000 to a group that’s opposing San Francisco Measure D, which will appear on voters’ ballots on June 2.

Advocates for the measure have argued it would crack down on wealth inequality by taxing what they view as excessive executive pay, while critics have warned it would cause employers to leave and could cause startups to locate elsewhere.

Brin’s contribution comes after the billionaire backed a group called Building a Better California with $57 million earlier this year to help it fight against California’s proposed wealth tax on billionaires. He was also among the wealthy residents of California to move their residence and some of their business interests out of the state ahead of the potential effective date for the tax at the start of this year.

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Measure D would impose a tax on the pay of executives who earn more than 100 times the median compensation rate of their employees.

Starting in 2027, it would raise the top executive pay tax rates for businesses to range from about 0.183% to 1.121% of their gross receipts, and rates based on payroll expenses would range from 0.75% to 4.47%, depending on the pay ratio.

In effect, it would amount to an eight-fold increase in the gross receipts tax, with the city estimating it would bring in about $250 million to $300 million in annual tax revenue.

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San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie expressed opposition to Measure D, arguing it “will cause major employers to leave San Francisco and prevent new companies from setting up shop here.”

Measure D is backed by several union groups as well as several prominent politicians on the left, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Sanders has argued that it would address wealth inequality by making “corporations pay their fair share.”

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The group Brin contributed to is also advocating in favor of San Francisco Measure C, which would increase the exemption threshold from the gross receipts and executive pay tax for small businesses from $5 million to $7.5 million in San Francisco gross receipts.

Bloomberg reported that Brin has spent over $60 million on state politics this year amid his effort to push back on what he views as harmful policies for California’s business climate.

The outlet noted that he launched a nonprofit called Compass4 to use for some of his political donations, and the entity was used for his contribution regarding the San Francisco ballot measures.