It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the courts if it does mange to pass and get a signature.
On one side we have plaintiffs with at least 30 million dollar deep pockets able to hire the best law firms in the nation to at the least drag it out for years if not a decade. Yes, this is $30 million net worth and not liquid assets, but other assets can be liquidated as needed.
On the other, we have a highly motivated and well versed state tax authority who is already drowning in red ink.
It might come down to personal jurisdiction. The methods of enforcement are likely to be (as with, say, non-payment of income taxes) both civil and criminal. If you’re subject to this tax and you move away without paying, I don’t think there’s any legal argument that you could not be indicted for tax evasion, have a warrant issued, and, yes, be extradited. On the civil side, when you moved away, did you take all of your assets with you? Because if you own property in CA, you are likely subject to it’s jurisdiction, and your property certainly is. So, be prepared to have that property seized. In a civil case, the state would have to show that it has personal jurisdiction over you, mostly by showing you have sufficient contacts with the state. So, it can depend on whether you continue to own property, go back and stay for long periods, conduct a lot of business there, etc. IIRC, the reason Amazon has to collect sales taxes for all the states that have them is that Amazon has sufficient contacts with all 50 states. Not only sending packages, but owning warehouses and being an employer, etc.
Well, you may be more used to seeing income tax, but there are still wealth taxes out there. Estate taxes, for example. And there are lots of times when there may be a need to value assets for legal purposes. That part has lots of precedents and would not really be controversial in the legal context.
I tried to read the whole text of the bill but I’d probably need to print it to have any chance at understanding it. But states/counties and municipalities directly tax non-residents all the time - I have to pay property and school taxes on property I own in NJ even if I am a resident of NY. If my job is based in NY and I work at home in Connecticut for my own convenience, I will owe income taxes in NY. Even if I never worked a single day in NY.
The issue wouldn’t be taxing non-residents - the issue would be whether this bill would be taxing former California residents on their assets outside of California. That, I’m not sure if California can do - and even if they can do it legally, enforcement will be impossible. I mean sure, California can tax me on my $300 million house in California even if I live in NJ. They can put liens against it and everything. How do they even find out a former California resident owns a $300 million house in NJ six years after leaving CA?
Assuming this passes ( and that's a giant assumption) mostly what will happen is that very rich people will move out of California and take as much of their assets with them as they can.( Sure, it might be hard to sell the $300 million house- but Jay Leno can move his $52 million worth of cars out of California very easily. Bank accounts are easy to move, too). Which means the tax revenues will drop even more than they already have.