iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Also, FYI if you are a columnist thinking of retyping shit written by a right-wing think tank, and for some reason I don't answer your email, we have posted lots of detailed responses on the internet & they are very easy to find if you google for 20 seconds first.

Cameron appears to not be on Bluesky, so hoping @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com can explain why LC is running falsehoods without even asking for responsive comment, which even right-wing outlets have called us for.

321

I'll go further and say that the article's discussion of Prop 40 is an embarrassment to the author and the publication. Quoting paid right-wing agitprop against the Prop, while not mentioning the supporters explanation of why that agitprop is lies, is not what I expect from this outlet.

170

Analysis of the Impacts of Propositions 41 and 42 on California Public Finance

Among many other possible (maybe intended) side effects! Like, Prop 42 arguably prohibits capital gains taxes (though it grandfathers taxes "imposed or collected" before 2026, so maybe only prohibits rate increases or decreases). We have an analysis, of course: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

papers.ssrn.com

<p>This memorandum discusses the possible collateral damage that Propositions 41 and 42 (on the ballot in California on November 3, 2026) might cause. The

042

It's a fairly standard tax-planning technique, though certainly much more common for smaller businesses than for publicly traded ones. (The short version is you can escape the estate tax by putting your business in a trust while you're alive, but you use the dual-class structure to keep control).

ITEP @itep.org · 28/09/2026

Reposted by Brian Galle

California voters will weigh in on a one-time 5% wealth tax on the state's billionaires. Opponents of the plan continue to raise objections, many of which are tenuous and have already been addressed. itep.org/californias-...

itep.org

California’s Prop 40: Responses to Common Objections

Proposition 40, California’s proposed billionaire tax, is a one-time 5 percent levy that addresses a significant one-time emergency, namely the cuts made to the healthcare system by the so-called “One...

2225062

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

My convo with The New Yorker's incredibly professional & dedicated fact checker: IPADFC: "This says you're going to get $100 billion from just 200 people. How is that possible?" Me: "Well, the 200 people are worth > $2.2 trillion." IPADFC: <long pause> IPADFC: "Those are really enormous sums."

0467

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Was...was I just ricrolled by a statistics bot?

081

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This very fine & excellent conference comes to you courtesy of program co-chairs @katarzynabilicka.bsky.social, Kathy Michelmore, and yrs truly, aided of course by our program committee and the good folks on the NTA team. You will be sad if you miss it.

152

Reposted by Brian Galle

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 22/09/2026

Six Nobel laureate economists, including our chief economist @josephestiglitz.bsky.social and senior fellow @pkrugman.bsky.social, are backing California’s billionaire tax. They argue a vote in the state with more billionaires than any other could help kick-start wealth taxes nationwide.

ft.com

Nobel economists throw support behind California billionaire tax

Progressive laureates say November ballot measure could ‘start reining in the power’ of ultra-wealthy

13518

Reposted by Brian Galle

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This is obviously nuts but I do want to see states put a "place offsetting $580 bets on State U instead" button on their work requirement verification pages.

1104

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This is obviously nuts but I do want to see states put a "place offsetting $580 bets on State U instead" button on their work requirement verification pages.

1104

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Graham, you clearly have forgotten that the MQD only limits Democratic administrations (and tariffs).

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I don't follow how this is an argument for voting against the tax. If Prop 40 loses 49-51 then billionaires would decide "oh, ok, people love us now so no worries about them wanting to tax us in the future"?

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I agree that it does a nice job teeing up the normative questions (without taking direct stances on them). Once you describe most business wealth as some combination of sweat equity + rents there's a clear case for taxing it much differently than we'd tax a portfolio of investment assets.

1100

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I support this effort but hey! I am already using that name. rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/u...

rooseveltinstitute.org

031

Well but there is no "fundamental" policy in sight. I'm happy if they indeed just try to argue that a three-year-old precedent whose scope is bitterly contested is a longstanding fundamental policy, but it seems that as in the PSLF reg illegality is the much shorter road for them to walk.

140

Yeah, this is why I think they are relying on a claim of illegality, not fundamental pub pol'y. But still contraBob Jones: "these sensitive determinations should be made only where there is no doubt that the organization's activities violate fundamental public policy," 461 U.S. at 598.

140

Anyway, the Education Regulation we nonprofit professors commented on was struck down by two separate district courts. I can't see this attempt faring much better. Again, we'll see 'em in court.

070

This zoning thing is not a hypothetical. There are a bunch of charitable property-tax exemption cases involving charities that violate local zoning, and courts over and over say that no, you can't lose your charitable tax exempt for breaking local ordinances.

180

On top of that, the economics of a supposed "illegality" doctrine are insane. Imagine that for everyone else, the fine for a zoning violation is $500. But for a charity, it is a random amount that could exceed millions of dollars. Is that a rational system of deterrence?

150

The IRS claims that an illegality doctrine has deep roots in the history of the common law of charity, so I read Every. Freaking. Charitable. Trust. Case. Since. 1602. They are boring, people. And there is no illegality doctrine. Nope, not there. It's a mistake by an 19th-century treatise writer.

1171

#1 is there is no such thing as the "illegality" doctrine. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court expressly said that the IRS cannot revoke a charity's tax exempt status for illegal conduct unless the conduct would violate a "fundamental" public policy on which all 3 branches of gov't have long agreed.

190

There is a lot more to say than we were able to get finished in time to comment on last year's Education Department NPRM. I'm looking forward to seeing @smbrnsn.bsky.social 's piece, and I'll have another 25k words or so soon. Here's a quick sampler of what they'll say.

140

Trump Moves to Strip Tax Exemption From Schools That Aid Minority Students

This claim that "illegal" activity by nonprofits allows the Admin to revoke their charitable status is itself unlawful, as I & nearly all the leading figures in nonprofit law explained in a reg comment last year. See here: www.insidehighered.com/sites/defaul... www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/b...

nytimes.com

The Treasury Department released rules that would prevent schools with race-based programs from qualifying for tax-exempt status, a threat to both higher education and other private schools.

46526

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Oh, nice! I am the very first follower for my co-author @mcmungan.bsky.social, crim law expert and horse guy. (To be clear, he is a guy who likes horses, not some kind of centaur thingy).

130

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Now in print: Where are all these super-rich families hiding their money from the estate tax? How can we tax it anyway? Read the answer in an article that NBER President Jim Poterba himself calls "very interesting"! repository.law.upenn.edu/Documents/De...

repository.law.upenn.edu

Taxing Dynasties - Intellectual Life @ PCL

Taxing Dynasties, Brian Galle, UC Berkeley School of Law<br>David Gamage, University of Missouri School of Law<br>Bob Lord, Institute for Policy Studies, <a href="https://doi.org/10.58112/uplr.174-5.2...

050

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

There is an excellent idea for much more extensive peer review in law journals, first developed by @danielschwarcz.bsky.social and as I understand still under exploration by him, Scott Hirst, & colleagues. If that sounds worth doing drop Dan a line.

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Sneak preview: Not only isn't there an "illegality" doctrine in nonprofit law today, there never was. Despite many treatises that say otherwise! I read every freaking charitable trust case back to 1602 to prove it, y'all. And yes, I did have to get a new eyeglass prescription.

001

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

120

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Can they audit 200 people for one tax year, with the extra $50m+ that Prop 40 gives them? Yes. They were, of course, less sanguine about a quick turnaround for our 2020 efforts, which would have added tens of thousands of wealth-tax payers on an ongoing basis.

191

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Oh, Ned, wish you and I had had a conversation before you ran this. We of course have thought about these issues, and taken a series of meetings with FTB, going back to our efforts in 2020 with Rob Bonta. There will be litigation, of course, but the billionaires have to pay first.

110

Reposted by Brian Galle

Democracy Journal @democracyjournal.org · 25/08/2026

No loophole for dying with your fortune intact, either. If NYC is a local test case, this is the national blueprint. Read the full piece here: democracyjournal.org/magazine/81/...

democracyjournal.org

The Right Way to Tax the Ultra-Rich

Taxing the accumulated wealth of America’s ultrarich should be a top tax-reform priority for the next administration. To be sure, there are other low-hanging tax-policy fruit, such as reversing…

021

Reposted by Brian Galle

Democracy Journal @democracyjournal.org · 25/08/2026

In New York City, property owners are pushing back hard on Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax: suing to block it and threatening to pull business from the city. A tax like this is one way progressives are trying to tax the rich.

111

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

To be clear, we are weird also.

021

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Sobering story on the impact of federal cuts on CA's health system, and unfortunately the Becerra quotes are cringe at best. There is no plan except to watch insured workers pay an extra $30B per year. This is exactly the crisis Prop 40 was written for: $100B in revenue, 90% to reduce health costs.

040

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I definitely discover a lot of good papers via my ssrn feeds. I occasionally send authors feedback, too, and in some instances the feedback even says something other than "hey you forgot to cite me." But often this will be the only version ppl read so that's the tradeoff.

010

Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Can't speak for the union but in my household if the governor were to say "you know what? I was wrong and we need to get this Prop 40 billionaire tax thing done" we would be pretty forgiving.