California Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested withholding the state's taxes amid reports the Trump administration may cut funding for the state's universities.
As tensions escalate between California and the Trump administration over immigration, another potential battlefront is emerging over taxes.
The spat began with reports that the Trump administration is considering cutting funding for California's university system, the largest higher education system in the nation with about 12% of all U.S. enrolled students.
In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote Friday afternoon in a social media post that California provides about $80 billion more in taxes to the federal government than it receives in return.
"Maybe it's time to cut that off, @realDonaldTrump," Newsom said.
CA is the forth largest economy; it would destroy the red state fuckheads if they stopped paying federal taxes. The rest of us follow suit and we defund the motherfuckers stinking up the government.
If you are sending our military against OUR OWN FUCKING PEOPLE we should not be PAYING FOR IT. My taxes don't go to that fascist bullshit
🖕🤬🖕 Fuck drumpf and every bootlicker that got him (probably illegally) elected
stopping paying taxes is one of the essential elements of a "soft secession", one where the state disintegrates from the federation, but not "all at once", but "step by step".
Maybe it was Trump's plan after all to cause a number of states to secede? After all, GOP has talked about Texas' secession for a while, iirc?
Welp, I don't see another option than lie down and roll over, but also, if Newsom actually does it, this will basically cause a civil war... or at best a 'Russia is pacifying Chechen terrorists' kind of situation.
Hope everyone has their popcorn / bugout bags ready.
One thing that might be misunderstood here is that California not paying taxes wouldn't harm Trump. Trump's goal, made clear from a sum of lots of behaviors, is the destruction of the United States. Defaulting on its debt, zeroing its GDP, destroying the livelihood of its inhabitants, and ultimately killing its war machine, so that they can't fight Putin's army. California's lack of payment may just hasten that goal.
I'm of the opinion that California, Oregon, and Washington should succeed and join Canada. Hell, New York and Massachusetts too if I'm indulging in this fantasy scenario.
If blue states were to band together and do this, it would bankrupt Trump’s fascist federal government pretty quickly. Maybe a blue state Articles of Confederation is in order.
I'm not mad at this at all
I'm thrilled a politician is actually fighting back. He has a history of standing up against trump and the gop status quo
That said this is the first time there is any bite to it and the cynic/realist in me is saying it's cause he is gearing up for presidential nomination and election. I really hope he is not the Democrat choice.
if the good wife/fight taught me anything the democrats already have someone picked out and priming public for it
I just wish we had Bernie i wanna see that timline :'(
So private prison giant GEO group Donates heavily to Trump‘s campaign. Trump has ice indiscriminately pick people up for “deportation“ where they are sent to prisons run by GEO group. Concerned citizens protest ICE actions in California. Trump illegally deploys national guard without the consent of California's government to attack law abiding citizens in California. Gavin Newsome, Liberal democrat and defender of capitalism, uses legal tactics to fight back against illegal activities. To me this act rings hollow. Please someone tell me what I am missing, because I would love to have a glimmer of hope these days.
Frankly I’d be surprised if anyone even does their taxes in this next cycle. Give dumpster nothing. Cut him off. Let congress figure out how their gonna pay the military and ICE and golf with their own dime to keep this shit up.
The guys that are currently restoring confederate monuments would perform a takeover of the state by the federal government. US states no longer share core values, sometimes very hypocritically so.
Maybe if you could use that term a few dozen more times, other outlets could pick it up and it would eventually back up into Fox News’ talking points where they’d have to either lie utterly, or risk their viewers’ comprehension that red states take money from blue states. Charity, let’s say. MAGA heads would temporarily be offline.
I've been talking to alot of people about something like this. If CA didn't pay federal tax, and all of it went to state, CA would make more money. Don't want to incite insurrection...but I think we could do alright by ourselves if push came to shove.
If the military was being deployed before for so little reason then hold on to your butts, the entire US military will be thrown in to the mix and California will be treated as an occupied state in no time if they touch the money.
My guess is that Newsom’s only angle would be to say “on X date, all state employee income tax withholdings will go into escrow.” Thats about a quarter million employees out of 20m people filing for taxes in CA.
Then the state would have to start coding and integrating that new system which - would be a HUGE pain in the ass. And while that was happening, this would likely be getting shut down by the SCOTUS.
Not trying to be a Debby downer for people that want to stick it to Trump. At first glance, it looks like leverage, but when you look closer, you see that Newsom can only control a small piece of the pie.
Can anyone explain what this even means? Like W2 taxes go directly from employer to federal right? What kind of control can California actually do to stop monetary flow to the federal government?
Or would everyone have to manually adjust their W2 withholdings to boycott?
I honestly don't know how this is even possible. Doesn't the withholding go directly to the IRS? The issue of federal income tax is between the federal government and the taxpayer.
How much does the state government of California actually pay to the federal government? When we hear these things about states that pay more in federal taxes than they receive aren't we normally talking about the individuals and businesses filing their federal taxes and then some of that getting back to the state? Most of this isn't State money going to the feds. It's the state money of the individuals within the state sending in money.
What taxes is the state collecting and then sending to the feds? At the state stops paying but the individuals keep paying then doesn't really make any difference? Are individuals going to risk going to prison for federal tax evasion?