Brin Bankrolls Billionaire Tax Fight With Record Donation

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated over $102 million to combat California's proposed billionaire tax, dubbed Proposition 40. The tax would impose a one-time 5% levy on California's 200 billionaires, with revenue going toward healthcare and education.

Brin's donation makes him the largest individual contributor to the effort, exceeding $187 million in total spending against the proposal. Billionaires including Brin and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt are opposed to the tax, which they argue will erode California's tax base and hurt key revenue for social services.

'I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union,' Brin told The New York Times. 'I don't want California to end up in the same place.'

However, proponents of the tax argue it will generate $100 billion over five years, with some of the wealthiest residents paying more than they currently do in income taxes.