Brian Galle
@bdgesq.bsky.social
Berkeley law prof guy, erstwhile Georgetown, DOJ, & points in between. Mostly boring tax stuff; occasional dollops of nonprofits, law & econ, etc. Could be arguing in my spare time.
Economics
48%
Business
26%
Money Moves: Taxing the Wealthy at the State Level — California Law Review
It’s widely understood today that inequality is a major social problem that in turn contributes to other crises. By most accounts, tax systems are supposed to be our engines of equality. Yet in today’...
www.californialawreview.org
We'll soon post a short document summarizing these points (with Emmanuel Saez stepping in to help on the economics and revenue estimates), but for now readers can look at our longer explanation at
www.californialawreview.org/print/state-...
4/4
www.californialawreview.org/print/state-...
4/4
Then there are the usual complaints about how taxing the wealthy will make them flee California. Of course, CA now has more than twice its national share of billionaires, and evidence overwhelmingly shows that wealth & income taxes have minimal effects on real decisions about where to live.
3/4
3/4
The author also complains that FTB might unfairly overvalue small businesses. In addition to the formula I just mentioned, though, the bill also offers taxpayers the option of submitting an appraisal to show that the formula overvalues their business.
2/4
2/4
California 5% Wealth Tax On Billionaires Could Pass This Time
California's 13.3% income tax does not distinguish between ordinary income and capital gain, growing to 14.4% in some cases. And California's tax collector is tough.
www.forbes.com
This write-up of the #CABillionaireTax gets several key points wrong.
First, it complains that small businesses are hard to value, but the bill has a simple formula for that task that is already in use in Switzerland and Spain.
www.forbes.com/sites/robert...
1/4
First, it complains that small businesses are hard to value, but the bill has a simple formula for that task that is already in use in Switzerland and Spain.
www.forbes.com/sites/robert...
1/4
Reposted by Matthew Bodie
Opinion | California’s wealth-tax test
Have voters finally found a policy that the state’s inherent economic strengths can’t overcome?
www.washingtonpost.com
Surprise! The Bezos Post doesn't like taxing billionaires.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Readers, do I need to point you to the real facts on taxpayer mobility? OK, one more time: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Readers, do I need to point you to the real facts on taxpayer mobility? OK, one more time: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
This, friends, is why they teach you in prosecutor school* not to wait until the last day of the statute of limitations to file your indictment.
*: A boot camp in S. Carolina run by DOJ -- kinda like the movie Stripes, but with a lot of bad suits -- call it "PinStripes."
*: A boot camp in S. Carolina run by DOJ -- kinda like the movie Stripes, but with a lot of bad suits -- call it "PinStripes."
This, friends, is why they teach you in prosecutor school* not to wait until the last day of the statute of limitations to file your indictment.
*: A boot camp in S. Carolina run by DOJ -- kinda like the movie Stripes, but with a lot of bad suits -- call it "PinStripes."
*: A boot camp in S. Carolina run by DOJ -- kinda like the movie Stripes, but with a lot of bad suits -- call it "PinStripes."
How a Top DC Lawyer and High-Stakes Poker Player Risks Losing It All
Tom Goldstein lived a double life—and is now fighting federal charges for alleged financial crimes. Why did he risk it all to play cards?
washingtonian.com
I'm quoted in this sad story about Tom Goldstein, delivering the unfortunate news that this is not the bs Hunter Biden tax charges or this DOJ's usual clown show. Lead prosecutor here was fraud chief in SDNY and the indictment is the real stuff.
washingtonian.com/2025/11/13/h...
washingtonian.com/2025/11/13/h...
I'm very sympathetic to this view (or to capture stories other than epistemic capture) but wonder how we would rule out the rival hypothesis that the Fed is just not particularly independent w/r/t banking regulation & gets pushed wherever other regulators in a given admin want it to go.
WA State Wealth Tax proposal receives strong support in Senate hearing - Sen. Noel Frame
Putting People First
senatedemocrats.wa.gov
But up from 50th to 49th thanks to the new cap gains tax! Many people are saying a wealth tax would help, too:
senatedemocrats.wa.gov/frame/2023/0...
senatedemocrats.wa.gov/frame/2023/0...
This is a family-friendly account, so not gonna post the Surfer Rosa album cover. But it did drop when I was 16.
Hey, Gordon got several universities into the top ten.
It was the list of the top ten most highly paid presidents, but still, credit where it's due.
It was the list of the top ten most highly paid presidents, but still, credit where it's due.
The admin is quietly rewriting the tax code—giving billions in breaks to major private equity, crypto, insurance, and energy firms by hollowing out the 15% corporate minimum tax.
More tax cuts for the rich is the last thing working families need.
@jessedrucker.bsky.social https://nyti.ms/3WOwXST
More tax cuts for the rich is the last thing working families need.
@jessedrucker.bsky.social https://nyti.ms/3WOwXST
How the Trump Administration Is Giving Even More Tax Breaks to the Wealthy
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service are issuing rules that provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax relief to big companies and the ultrarich.
nytimes.com
The repost just below this one in my feed explains how it is that IRS has the power to declare its own tax holidays. Might be a bad idea, some have said! (I'd favor allowing 3d parties to appeal giveaways to Tax Court, where Article III standing rules do not apply.)
Reposted by Brian D. Galle
How the Trump Administration Is Giving Even More Tax Breaks to the Wealthy
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service are issuing rules that provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax relief to big companies and the ultrarich.
nytimes.com
The admin is quietly rewriting the tax code—giving billions in breaks to major private equity, crypto, insurance, and energy firms by hollowing out the 15% corporate minimum tax.
More tax cuts for the rich is the last thing working families need.
@jessedrucker.bsky.social https://nyti.ms/3WOwXST
More tax cuts for the rich is the last thing working families need.
@jessedrucker.bsky.social https://nyti.ms/3WOwXST
Source: ProPublica share.google/VJUGMnGSNOUQ...
I must say I genuinely believed that the MQD only applied to administrative action by Democrats.
My erstwhile BC colleague Ray Madoff (no relation to that guy) on NPR talking about her book "The Second Estate" and making a great case for mark-to-market taxation for the ultra-rich:
www.npr.org/2025/11/01/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/01/n...
ED Finalizes PSLF Rule Limiting Who Gets Forgiveness
The department says fewer than 10 employers will be affected a year, but advocates fear the rule could set “a troubling precedent.”
www.insidehighered.com
I previewed the litigation against Education's new public service loan forgiveness rule for Inside Higher Ed:
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Pass-throughs?
Regulations.gov
www.regulations.gov
For skeptical comments of leading nonprofit-law experts (+me) on the proposed rule -- many (but, crucially for APA purposes, not nearly all) of them hand-waved at by the final rule's preamble -- see here: www.regulations.gov/comment/ED-2...
public-inspection.federalregister.gov
Education has issued its final public service loan forgiveness rule. public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-19729.pdf
As expected it is awful and not much changed from the PR. Pretty hard to take seriously the idea that you can respond to 14,000 comments in 1.5 months. We'll see 'em in court.
As expected it is awful and not much changed from the PR. Pretty hard to take seriously the idea that you can respond to 14,000 comments in 1.5 months. We'll see 'em in court.
From OpenAI, you mean? That's my sense. The AG could have held this transaction up a long time if they had been so inclined. Whether, as you say, it ultimately binds is open q. given the history of the sub controlling its parent board, weakness of np law, etc.
OpenAI, a charity, gets to effectively sell off a part of its stake in ChatGPT. But in exchange, it makes fairly unprecedented promises to still be good and ensure the charity remains in control of the company that will operate the ChatGPT enterprise.
This is a remarkable document. In particular I have never seen an entity agree that the AG not only has continuing supervisory authority, but that the entity will pay the AG's costs of exercising that power, including the costs of experts.
Reposted by Brian D. Galle
Jesse
@jessemerle.bsky.social
· 27d
This structure also protects against a key weakness of public benefit corps (the structure the for-profit sub is now using). As @islandtaxprof.bsky.social has explained, B-corps are vulnerable to hostile takeovers by profit maximizers. That will be very tough to do with no access to board seats.
When I was commenting for reporters last week, I assumed that there would be more of a spin-off deal in which the nonprofit would get nothing but cash. This structure, in which the nonprofit retains overwhelming (formal) control, is a big win for those who want to see continuing guardrails.