No, Gavin Newsom, Has Not ‘Opposed All Efforts To Raise Taxes’

As California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) builds his national profile in advance of a 2028 presidential bid, successfully so according to recent polling, he is aided by a state press corps that glosses over some of the less appealing aspects of his record. Take the Sacramento Bee, which reported on August 27 that “Gov. Gavin Newsom has opposed all efforts to raise taxes during his tenure.” That statement provides the former San Francisco Mayor and current California Governor with the sort of moderate sheen he’ll need to appeal to a national electorate. The only problem is it’s not true.

Gov. Newsom has opposed all of the wealth tax bills filed during his tenure as governor. However, Newsom has not, as the Sacramento Bee reported, “opposed all efforts to raise taxes during his tenure.” In fact, Gavin Newsom was one of only two governors to impose a tax hike in 2020.

In the summer of 2020, during the height of the state-imposed lockdowns, Governor Newsom and California legislators approved AB 85, which raised taxes on businesses by $9.2 billion over three years by suspending net operating loss deductions and limiting business tax credits to $5 million per year. That tax hike on California employers, which Newsom signed in June of 2020, was made retroactive to the start of the year.

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