California's Billionaire Tax Fight and What It Means for the US Gold Card

The news, in one line

A California union backing a 5% tax on billionaires offered to cut the rate to 2%, and Governor Gavin Newsom turned the offer down. The measure cleared its signature hurdle on a Wednesday this week; the backers softened their ask a day later. Reporting notes that six billionaires had already left the state.

This is a state tax story, not a federal immigration announcement. But it lands on a familiar nerve for globally mobile families: where you sit changes what you owe. That logic bites harder now, because the US Gold Card is no longer a proposal — it went live on 10 December 2025 at US$1,000,000, plus a non-refundable US$15,000 processing fee. People are making real US residency decisions today, which makes the state-tax question immediate rather than hypothetical.

Why a state tax debate matters to a US residency plan

For anyone weighing US residency, the California episode is a useful reminder of two separate tax layers.

The first is federal. The US taxes its residents and citizens on worldwide income. A Gold Card holder receives lawful permanent residence as an EB-1 or EB-2 visa holder — which means US tax residency, global income reported to the IRS, and exit-tax exposure if they later give up the status. That is true regardless of which state they live in.

The second is state. California's fight shows how much the second layer can move. A wealth tax, even a proposed one, is the kind of policy that pushes high-net-worth residents toward states with no income tax. The headline number — six departures — is small, but it signals that the people a wealth tax targets are exactly the people most able to relocate.

So the practical lesson is not "avoid the US." It is that a US residency decision is really two decisions: federal status, and which state you actually land in. Paying $1,000,000 for the federal half and then defaulting into a high-tax state is an expensive way to be careless.

Where the Gold Card actually stands

Be clear about status: the Gold Card is live, and applications are open on the official portal at trumpcard.gov.

The individual route is a $15,000 non-refundable DHS processing fee, followed by a $1,000,000 payment after security vetting. A corporate route runs $2,000,000 per sponsored employee. Successful applicants receive lawful permanent residence as EB-1 or EB-2 holders, subject to visa availability, with US citizenship available on the standard naturalization timeline — generally five years.

Two things to keep in view. First, this is a payment to the US government, not a recoverable investment — unlike EB-5, the money does not come back. Second, the legal ground is contested: EB-5 remains authorized by Congress, and creating a new immigrant category by executive action invites challenge. Uptake so far has been very limited.

The $5,000,000 figure that dominated early coverage now belongs to a different product — the Platinum Card, which is waitlist-only and not yet launched.

On citizenship: as a residency route, the Gold Card lets you keep your current passport — it is not a second citizenship, so any no-dual-nationality rule in your home country is not triggered at the residency stage. The trade-off is the worldwide-taxation and exit-tax exposure noted above.

Realistic alternatives if you want options now

If the appeal is mobility and a base abroad — rather than the US specifically — several programs cost a fraction of $1M and carry no worldwide-tax obligation.

• Panama Qualified Investor Visa — from $300,000, with permanent residency in roughly 30 days. Fast, and Panama taxes on a territorial basis rather than worldwide.
• Paraguay Investor Residency — from $70,000, typically 3–6 months. The lowest entry point here.
• Portugal Golden Visa — from $216,000, with residency in 12–39 months given current backlogs. A European base with a long-term citizenship horizon.
• Austria Residence (financially independent) — roughly 3–6 months, but a tight annual quota makes timing the real constraint.

None of these is a US substitute if your goal is specifically US residency for work, family, or education planning. But the contrast is sharper now that the Gold Card is real: it costs several times these routes, the money does not come back, and it attaches a lifetime tax relationship that they do not.

For a fuller picture of the US landscape, see our United States country guide.

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This is analysis, not legal or tax advice. Wealth-tax exposure and exit-tax planning turn on your specific facts — get professional advice for your situation. If the US route interests you, the US Gold Card page has the current numbers.