SACRAMENTO, California — Gavin Newsom has spent his time in Sacramento slamming proposal after proposal to tax the rich. Pressure on him from the left to back down is about to hit a boiling point.
Labor unions have already floated one ballot initiative to tax California’s wealthiest residents and circulated another to cement a previous income tax hike. And they are in preliminary talks with progressive lawmakers about ways to squeeze more from multinational corporations.
It’s an effort to stabilize a projected multi-billion dollar state budget deficit that could be exacerbated by federal cuts. But it also amounts to a massive early test for Newsom’s likely presidential campaign. If he holds the line on taxes, he risks alienating unions and progressive allies who form the backbone of the Democratic electorate. If he doesn’t, he risks reinforcing the Republican caricature of him as a California tax-and-spend liberal, and driving away moderate voters and the titans of California industry who have supported Newsom since he first entered politics…