this post was submitted on 18 May 2026
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Technology

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[–] webkitten@piefed.social 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Can't wait til he pushes back and cancels it next week when he gets the slightest push back from billionaires.

[–] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

We need something like:

  • Unrealized gains are not taxed directly (because that does create issues). But borrowing against them is treated as partial realization, which is taxed. Loans shouldn’t be a way to live without a tax burden. Tax the collateral as a percentage of its value.
  • Maybe put the tax on the loan issuer, who can then determine whether or not to raise the loans rates or add fees to offset the burden.
  • Instead of taxing gains equally, tax assets according to how liquid they are. Public stocks are high, treasury bonds are high, private businesses are low, primary residence is low, fine art is low.
  • Deferred gain with interest. Gains still accumulate without tax. When eventually sold, you calculate interest at sale time. An interest surcharge is added based on how long taxes were deferred.
  • Allow equity dilution: Instead of requiring cash, large holders of public companies may periodically transfer a percentage of shares to public treasury.
  • Tax luxury expenditure derived from wealth. Private jets, yachts, a fucking social media company… tax the shit out of stuff like that. Use market rate as basis. If a company buys a yacht to lease to the CEO, the company pays the tax.
  • Tax publicly traded assets via central clearing systems, on a rate to scale basis. First $50M annual exempt. $50M–$250M tiny rate. … $100B+ steep rate.

You wouldn’t even have to worry about dynastic wealth via step up in basis, after a certain point. So long as you’re effectively taxing wealth along the way.

Honestly… you know what the billionaires say, right? “Move fast, break things.” I wonder how they’d like it, when it’s their things which might break.

[–] Zannsolo@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Stocks given as bonuses/pay should be taxed upfront at the time of insurance either pay the appropriate income tax rate in cash of the value at time of issuance or the government gets the same % of the stock as the appropriate income tax rate(probably the top rate) which it will sell off over 12 months as to spread impact to share price.

[–] michaelmrose@lemmy.world 47 points 2 days ago (4 children)

As someone who lives near a Best Buy, I'm at Best Buy often," Newsom told reporters during a news conference. "And I'm paying sales tax on a lot of this prewritten software. And then I find out that all my friends that aren't near a Best Buy, they're downloading and they are not paying sales tax. How is that fair?"

Are you actually older than Bernie Sanders. Who the actual fuck buys software in a box in a store? I was born in 1980 and I've never done this.

[–] garretble@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Also, what human being has ever said "prewritten software" to describe a video game or an office suite you can buy at Best Buy?

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What, you don't write your games yourself?

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[–] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Games are software. People buy a FUCK load of games. If I go to best buy and buy a game I pay sales tax. If I buy the same game online I do not pay sales tax.

I'm in California. This is one of the reasons I don't buy games in stores.

[–] michaelmrose@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Why would you ever physically get in your car and go to a store which has 20-100 games instead of clicking in a store that has thousands in either case?

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Interesting, steam charges taxes on my purchases. Though I believe it is due to Canada doing digital sales tax laws a while back.

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[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 6 points 1 day ago

This sounds like something donald trump would say but vaguely coherent

[–] Aitolda@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

I'm a couple years younger than you, and well as a kid we did buy software from babbages or electronic boutique. I think the last time I bought software for a store was around 2010 at a micro center or something. But that was already a rare occurrence at that point. So as of today it's probably been 16 years since I've done so. I think most of the stores that actually sold software are out of business. So your point is valid.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 118 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (15 children)

"As someone who lives near a Best Buy, I'm at Best Buy often," Newsom told reporters during a news conference. "And I'm paying sales tax on a lot of this prewritten software. And then I find out that all my friends that aren't near a Best Buy, they're downloading and they are not paying sales tax. How is that fair?"

I agree, its not fair, let's just remove the sales tax, k? 👍

Also pretty sure no one is buying software from Best Buy in 2026, that would be dumb as hell.

[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 34 points 2 days ago (5 children)

this is just reclassifying 'digital' software as taxable. the same as software on physical media already is in california. some states have a similar tax status for these products.

many states already did the same with digital video and streaming.

i don't really see a problem with it.

[–] Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 23 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (8 children)

I think their point may be more thay sales taxes are regressive- they disproportionately impact people with less money, as those people need to spend all or most of what they have for necessities, while folks with a large surplus of wealth or income only need to spend a small portion and much of it can go towards savings or investments

I dont think its unreasonable for someone to say they'd rather just do away with sales tax altogether. We may have more appropriate tools with which to fund the government

Edit: the IRS and also taxfoundation.org both explicitly describe sales tax as being regressive. I just checked cause I'm not an expert and someone asserted that they aren't regressive. I dont believe thats accurate.

https://apps.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/teacher/whys_thm03_les02.jsp https://taxfoundation.org/taxedu/glossary/regressive-tax/

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[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 31 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Also I fucking doubt Newsome been anywhere near a Best Buy much less bought software from there.

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[–] agentTeiko@piefed.social 26 points 2 days ago (19 children)

You all are buying software? I just donate to my friendly neighborhood FOSS Developer.

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[–] fira@lemmy.today 54 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Tax the rich you coward!!

Seriously though, is he trying to fire a salvo in some BS culture war battle? Maybe he thinks taxing software will effectively tax ai?

[–] MysticKetchup@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Yeah, taxing the average consumer more but refusing to tax billionaires is regressive and dumb as hell. Newsom is a sellout

[–] Jason2357@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The exemption on silicon valley's sales tax is a defacto subsidy of billionaires.

[–] zbyte64@awful.systems 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Why stop there? food stamps are a subsidy for corporate ag. Public roads are a subsidy for big oil. And schools are a subsidy for all the companies that don't educate their workers. Wow, we are very smart of have realized this

[–] fira@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago

Damn sounds like we need some good old fashioned communism so we make sure the subsidies are going to the people rather than some rich egomaniacs hedge fund

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[–] frog@lemmus.org 15 points 2 days ago

He works for billionaires. This is just a virtue signal to make it look like he could be taxing AI when really it's a regressive tax that would hurt poor people the most and further save his voter base: billionaires.

So he will never push a genuine wealth tax, but he will push red herrings.

[–] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is mostly a tax in video games. Basically it's an attack on steam.

I'm in California. If I but a game(software) I pay tax if I do it at Best buy. If I buy it on steam I pay no sales tax.

I wouldn't be surprised if 99% of all software bought in stores is just video games.

[–] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Steam already charges a state sales tax, so this isn't at Steam. There are a lot of other smaller online stores that don't bother with state taxes though.

[–] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

That's only partly correct. Steam only charges a state sales tax for states that require sales tax on its purchases. CA does not impose state sales tax on digital products, so Steam does not charge CA residents a sales tax on purchases. This is aiming to level the playing field for brick and mortar stores as well as make more money (from normal people instead of taxing billionaires).

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[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 95 points 2 days ago (10 children)

This is the candidate libs are going to be screaming at you to vote for in 2028. Don’t let him make it past the primary.

[–] Soulphite@reddthat.com 22 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I'll go with Capt. Mark Kelly if he slips in.

[–] zbyte64@awful.systems 3 points 1 day ago

Jesus christ the future is grim if we only get to pick between zionists

[–] kreskin@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

the centrist zionist who votes to support "business" over his constituents needs any way he can? I guess if you loved Biden he's pretty much the same thing. Good luck with that I guess. If all you are voting for is that he's ex nasa, he's your obvious choice. But he's pretty much the same as Newsom then, how do you differentiate them? One is bald and the other not?

https://www.boughtbyzionism.org/mark_kelly

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[–] mctoasterson@reddthat.com 36 points 2 days ago (4 children)

"Not fair to those who buy physical software"

What was the most recent fucking calendar year when somebody walked into a CompUSA and bought physical boxed software??

I think I bought Half-Life 2 in box on launch day. So... 2004.

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[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 48 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Greasy Gavin needs to tax his billionaire golf buddies.

Motherfucker.

[–] Keeponstalin@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago

The only POC that Gavin cares about are People of Capital

[–] JiveTurkey@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago

Gavin is a fuckin chode.

[–] chunes@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago

I've never heard the term "pre-written software" in my life and I've been a nerd for many decades.

lawyers sure are something else with their stupid-ass terms.

[–] db2@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

He's really trying to paint himself as something he isn't by the Trump clowning. The reality is he's the same thing with less narcissism and dementia. He isn't the good guy he's the marginally less bad guy.

[–] Professorozone@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago

This guy is a POS.

[–] ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip 23 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I've been paying tax on games for years. Digital storefronts had to implement state sales tax after the big Wayfair suit in like 2018.

What software has been ignoring this?

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[–] rf_@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

Do wealth tax instead!!!

Inequality is the cause of poor living standards. We need higher taxes on inheritance, wealth. And weaker taxes on workers.

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