Overview
- The California Franchise Tax Board has a staff handbook describing how agents will review whether ultra‑wealthy people who left the state truly severed ties to avoid the proposed billionaire tax.
- Media coverage has identified prominent former residents, including Sergey Brin, David Sacks and Travis Kalanick, as likely targets of residency reviews.
- The handbook lists concrete lines of inquiry such as children’s school enrollment, vehicle registrations, medical providers, bank accounts, travel and other records to test where someone’s home really is.
- If the ballot measure is approved and the FTB finds people were residents on the statutory date, the tax is written to apply retroactively and could lead to multi‑billion dollar liabilities and long legal fights.
- Backers say the tax would fund healthcare and education while opponents and wealthy donors are already mounting campaign and legal defenses, and experts say residency challenges follow long‑established multifactor tests used by states such as California and New York.