2mo ago

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is floating a federal tax boycott

www.cbsnews.com

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is floating a federal tax boycott. Here's what to know.

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.

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2mo ago

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is floating a federal tax boycott

www.cbsnews.com /news/california-gavin-newsom-federal-tax-boycott-trump-what-to-know/

200 comments

Holy fucking shit. I'm amazed, I was just saying the other day that this would eventually get into this point. Didn't think it'd be this week
- Fascism only has one speed: Blitzkrieg.
  Any other speed would be slow enough for people to have enough time to band together and organize a resistance to this horseshit.
  That's literally the only playbook. Break everything: Go fast. Hit people with so much horseshit they are still stuck trying to process the one from 2 weeks ago, because since then 5 other constitutional crisis' have happened and now they're deporting both of your neighbors.
  
  That's not really the case, though. This rise of fascism has been building for decades now. It's been a slow, steady, drip drip drip. Perhaps not so noticeable except from the outside - Americans are embedded in a pervasive atmosphere of propaganda. The Republicans have been getting more and more authoritarian over the years, more and more extreme, and the Democrats have been letting them. It's been more than four years since the last violent coup attempt, after all, and those were the same people behind this play.
  It's not progressing fast. You just haven't noticed its progress until now, when it's nearly done.
- At this rate they'll be deploying the Marines to LA's streets by July!
  
  Um aren't they doing this now?
- I didn’t expect it to be Gavin Newsom. Pleastly suprised
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.
- California, Oregon, and Washington are all donor states that contribute a combined ~$160 billion more to the federal government than they get back each year. They also make up $3.1 trillion of the GDP, they have all mainland west coast ports, and they’re major agricultural states. They’d honestly be better off if they banded together to Bugs Bunny off.
  
  There's a bigger thing people tend to forget: shipping ports. There aren't a lot of natural harbors on the west coast of North America. California has three of them (LA, Long Beach, San Fransisco) and Washington has two (Seattle and Tacoma).
  Want to trade anything with the rest of the world? The east coast and Mississippi ports aren't going to cut it. Don't want to trade anything? The US economy just went into depression.
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 :'(
- I want the timeline where Carter won a second term and the Christian nationalists funding Reagan realized their plan didn't work and give up on it.
  
  Or how about a timeline where we didn't immediately give up on ~~Restoration~~ Reconstruction after the Civil War
  EDIT: derp.
  
  Just reminded me of "Sliders"...
  
  Unfortunately, they tend to try harder when it doesn't work the first time. The first attempts at the Prosperity Gospel, prior to WWII, were laughed off because it was so obviously self-serving to rich people. They kept at it until it stuck.
- If history has taught me anything, the dems will run schumer.
  
  No way, Amy Schumer?!!1?
  But yeah history is better data than the good wife lol
What is a donor state?
Indeed, cbsnews. What is a “donor state”?
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.
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
I'm not a fan of Newsom, but get it dude.
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.
- As someone living in California, I could certainly use some more money... Doesn't help my employer moved me here then reneged on my proposed salary. It's very hard to make it here, but ultimately worth it. For me anyhow.
  
  Doesn’t help my employer moved me here then reneged on my proposed salary
  Look up "promissory estoppel."
- Yeah, but just wait for when King Trump makes California pay tariffs to trade with the remaining states! He'll bleed CA dry!
  
  Then CA negotiates trade deals with Asia and quits doing business with US altogether.
  
  Yeah he'd try, Smartiest Economier he is. interstate trade is generally critical, but a good chunk of agriculture in the U.S.A. is in CA (Powerd by water from the hoover, yes) throw in Silicon valley, Hollywood, and Napa, CA putting tarrifs on the U.S.A. would hurt too, maybe more.
  
  The country will starve in a famine between that and climate change/mass extinction
  I feel like the lady in Melancholia
MOTHERFUCKING DO IT
Stop bending the knee to a felon rapist traitor who uses the military to assault American citizens.
Stop providing welfare to failing red states who elect felon rapist traitors who target blue states.
I had the disolution of the US for 2035 with California being the first to leave... Fuckin speedrunners
- accelerationism?
I don’t know how this would work, but do it.
I don’t expect Governor Greaseball to follow though, but I would wholeheartedly support this. And secession. I’d also support secession.
- Iirc, California is like the 5th largest economy in the world. Secession sounds like a great way to crash the US economy.
  
  The only reason some states aren't considered third-world is because of the federal system, a fact they so often forget.
  
  You know what is wild?
  The US is the largest economy on the world, and if you remove California from it at #4 the US moves to....
  #1 still. Several states make up the top 25 list of GDPs and the total combined is absurd.
  The US is just massive in scale. It's fully running the global empire still even if it's waning. I do think losing California would be a massive hit for lots of reasons but just wild to think about.
  
  Fourth largest, Texas is eighth.
  
  To that I say:
  
  Don’t worry, we are already on track for that.
Been saying that we’re headed for balkanization since the clown won his first term. Not seeing any reason to change that prediction.
- balkanization
  For uninformed people like myself:
  Balkanization is the process of a country or region fragmenting into smaller, often hostile units, typically driven by ethnic, cultural, religious, or geopolitical differences. The term originates from the Balkan Peninsula, a region that has experienced significant fragmentation throughout history, and the term is now used more broadly to describe similar processes elsewhere.
- I'm not looking forward for the chaos preceding the emergence of the next superpower if US balkanization happens.
  
  US balkanization is exactly the chaos preceding the emergence of the next superpower.
  
  Isn't it just China at this point?
Feel free to join Canada my friends.
- Breaks down when you start seeing all the blueberries in the ketchup and you realize that's where huge portions of the population actually live.
  So much of that red state territory is vacant real estate. A big chunk more is functionally disenfranchised (Indian reservations, migrant labor communities, large prison populations).
  This illustrates regions of political control. But it is in no way reflective of homogeneous popular opinion.
- I would really like to come visit if the road border near Detroit is still relatively safe. My passport and driver's license have the same name and gender so I might have a chance.
  
  They might still get you on skin colour, ethno-linguistic origin of name, left-wing political affiliations, religious affiliations (or lack thereof), type of employment or specific employer, perceived accent, or a boarder agent just having a very bad or a very good day.
- I’m neither rich nor skilled enough :( If I was I’d be up there like yesterday
There is no way Newsom has this much balls. There is no way he could possible be this based.
Right? Golly, I hope he proves me wrong.
- I barely know anything about Newsom's track record, but based on the last few months dude has the biggest balls I've seen on any US politician in a long time.
  
  And he HATES Donald Trump lol. Newsom’s been spitting fire in the news. It certainly feels like things have finally gotten personal for him.
- Just join Canada. If you are willing to consider you aren't the center of the world, you are welcome.
  
  No they're too big, instantly doubling the population wouldn't go well. At most a Euro style partnership if a few more western states broke off.
- Oh sick can we get the yaogui on the flag too?
- They will just flatten it with carpet bombs.
  
  California is unlikely to give up their nukes.
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.
- Most people have their federal tax withheld by their employers and do their taxes in order to get back their overpayment. Are we all going to not do our taxes and leave that overpayment in the government's coffers? Are employers going to stop doing the withholding? Neither scenario is very likely.
  
  Go to HR. Ask for a W-4, change withholding to $0.
- For people like me who have some savings and investments but don't want to run afoul of the law - Just take a couple years off. I'm working part time to cover my cost of living, and I'm not investing. So minimizing what I pay in income tax and taxes on dividends.
- I hope people reading this aren't taking this advice seriously... The IRS will fuck you up. They have less funding, but that only means that they only go after low hanging fruit (AKA people who can't afford a team of lawyers to fight). They'll garnish your fucking wages.
  Kinda crazy that the comment is so highly upvoted... I get the sentiment, but you're giving people really bad advice here.
  
  Nice try Steve miller. Go jump up your butt.
  
  Idk, the author of "Civil Disobedience" did it. It's a valid resistance method, or just a way to keep yourself morally consistent. Every kind of resistance has a good chance of bringing harm to yourself.
  I personally didn't file one year; kinda just kept putting it off because I knew I wouldn't be able to pay my taxes (was a 1099 worker, and suffered some major financial blows that year); nothing ever happened, but it definitely was a risk. I probably won't do that as an "act of resistance" next year, but will probably try extending as long as possible.
  
  DOGE already scrapped the IRS
- "Doing your taxes next cycle" just accounts for bonuses/corrections after reviewing taxes that had been paid through the year. It happens every paycheck.
  Some people have very daringly chosen to withhold all taxes from each paycheck - there are legal reasons you might do this like "I plan to have a large tax write-off", but without said reason, it's very possible the IRS would come after you.
- the govt doesn't need money to spend it btw - this is how we got the national debt
  this could affect something but not as much as youmight think
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.
- I’m not sure how legal it is for CA to stop paying taxes. At the very least, it’s an attempt to attack where it hurts, which is in the money.
  
  Calexit is becoming less and less of a meme every day.
  
  Trump does not give one rat fuck of an ass about the law. Why the fuck should anyone do anything for the federal government and pay taxes at this point?
  
  Technically trump's presidency is illegal. But here we are.
- Don't bet on hope from this. California can't win on its own.this needs to build significantly before it has an effect.
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 don't think he is a puppet of Putin. I think he really, really likes money and power, that's it. He does things to further his own grip of the country, thus increasing his power. Or, he does things to increase his wealth. Nothing more. He likes authoritarian leaders because they have more of a hold on their respective countries (a weird form of respect), or because they give him money (or expensive planes).
  
  But if it's not Putin's fault,
  US people would have to face the reality that there's stupid people among them
  and there'd be no "external threat" to distract from internal problems!
- I don't think Trump is as much of a lackey that's following the plan as he is a useful idiot that's easy to manipulate. I believe that Trump believes that the US is the biggest and the best - it suits the same image he has of himself as the biggest and best leader - but he's so dumb and narcissistic that he won't realize that he's being led on a leash.
  I don't think Trump consciously wants to destroy America, I think he wants to make it what he considers to be great (a militarily powerful dictatorship built on worshiping him), but he's absolutely fine with making it weaker in the interim if it either:
  A. Makes him gain something
  B. Feeds his ego
- It might put California on the track to surviving Trump's destruction and becoming a civilized country opposed to Putin, unlike other US states.
I would like to leave this here as a warning, because it seems relevant to me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire
- While I agree, I think that's a better comparison to the LA protests and the National Guard being called in. An entire state government "going rogue" (and the support that they may or may not have from the other states) is in a whole other class, especially when you consider the legal framework that separates the powers of the state from the federal government. It's closer to Brexit than anything else, imo, but even that doesn't truly match up with the intricacies of the power struggle since the members of the EU have their own militaries instead of a unified military under the governance of a body separate from its member countries.
- The Reichstag Fire was most likely a false-flag that the Nazis used to consolidate power... They're waiting for something to pop off so they have an excuse for martial law or whatever. If it doesn't happen on its own, then they'll probably just do it themselves. Agents provocateur are the oldest trick in the book.
- This is, hands down, the funniest version of this that I have seen.
  I even heard it in his voice goddamnit.
  This is art.
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.
- As Trump has shown, legality doesn't matter if you can drag out the legislative process long enough. Clearly, California withholding taxes will be struck down by the courts, but the damage will be done if it can be dragged out long enough to disrupt the bond market even further than Taco already has.
  
  also depends how many other states follow suit, if any.
  
  I think the bigger impact here is how it brings the tax imbalance into the conversation. Look at how effective that argument has been at fuelling Albertan separatism. It's especially effective on Conservatives, who are absolutely suckers for anything that suggests they're getting a bad deal. "We pay too much for too little" is something that he could easily get most of California to rally around.
  By pushing this line, Newsom is driving a wedge between California and the US. I couldn't possibly say whether he's actually trying to fuel separatism, or simply gesturing at it as a threat, but that's the implied danger here.
  
  Although some of his shit gets shut down pretty fast. Some of his immigration stuff got put on ice fast by the SOCTUS.
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.
- Doubt they'll be paying much taxes if everyone is a prisoner in their own homes
  
  The federal government will just levy more taxes upon the remaining states. At least 10 thousand good dubloons and various gold statues and concubines per year
Let's Fucking Do This
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?
- His plan to lose his most valuable states? Probably not. He’s just an idiot out of control.
  
  Although, from a Russian perspective, that would be an ideal outcome. I'd put nothing past these traitorous criminals.
In just two days I got my answer.
https://lemmy.world/comment/17543233
- Trumptard is really really really really trying to start a civil war. Amazing :/
- Hasn't actually happened yet though.
California should just leave the US and form its own country.
Not one more penny to these Nazis.
If just New York and California did this, it would cripple some red states
- All red states. It would cripple the country and thus ALL red states.
  
  Good. Even my state provides more, than we get. Fuck em! Let them have their Jesus Land. That will make America great, no red states.
Cross posted to BoycottUnitedStates @ europe.pub
Hey, now we're even boycotting ourselves!
...
More seriously:
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.
Join Canada.
- Most Americans would be unhappy in Canada. You don't have the right to own a gun in Canada. Employees have rights in Canada. We have actual religious freedom in Canada, not the right to discriminate based on "religion". Women have the right to choose in Canada. Hate speech isn't protected in Canada. We're a VERY different country even compared to your most liberal states.
  
  Don't be a republican and confuse an electoral map with people. Most Americans support all of that.
  
  Don't threaten me with a good time lol
  
  There’s also a lot more rules about everything and y’all pay more taxes than us. Nowhere is perfect. Source : helped a friend open a business in Vancouver during the pandemic and eventually got shut down by the city for ‘permits’ despite having used the business to raise over $200k CAD for charity
  EDIT: also, there aren’t any school shootings, even though there are plenty of trump supporters
  
  Sounds much like a blue state. You don't have the right to own a gun in MA for example. You have a right to submit an application for your local police chief to deny or approve based on how much they like you.
- CA CA
The state government isn't involved with collecting federal taxes, so how could this be done?
- I don't know how they could implement this across the private sector, but the State of California has a quarter million employees for which they could probably stop sending tax withholdings to the feds.
  According to this random site I found Googling, it's around $230M every month.
This would be madlad behaviour if it actually happens
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.
Link to article for people with adblock enabled
Ok, this is an idea I had after reading numerous comments on this post. You're all asking how this would work ... hear me out.
California declares its own currency, the "California dollar". Wages earned in California dollars wouldn't be taxed like US Dollars.
There are some issues to work out; I think the IRS does tax your foreign assets ... some ... but I think that this scheme could work.
- Soundish monetary policy. In the end it's a fallacy that has never even been tried on a theoretical level. We just did it and people were like, ok. We've been kept afloat by monetary and military threats. The policy makes no sense on any level, that infinite debt is perfectly fine or normal.
  
  What if they got into a monetary union with Canada and linked Calidollar with the Canadollar with the same value and entirely interchangeable the way the Belgian and Luxemburg franc used to work?
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 guess it would be something like "Don't pay your federal taxes, Californians, we will not cooperate with the federal government if they try to collect."
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.
- All of new england pls
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?
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.
- Yes. California would need to split off its banking system.
Do it! Sink this economy! TACO!
Unfortunately not something really he has a lot of control over, though he could start a movement
YES
Ain't happening anyway

200 comments

What is a donor state?