Meet a 23-year-old millionaire who canceled his plan to move to San Francisco because of a billionaire tax he might never have to pay

At 23, Emil Barr is already a millionaire building a business in Columbus, Ohio. But San Francisco’s investors and AI scene caught his eye—enough that the Flashpass founder told Fortune he signed a lease to move there about a year ago.

He changed his mind after looking more closely at California’s regulatory and tax environment, including its proposed billionaire wealth tax, which helped persuade him to cancel the move entirely. He wouldn’t owe the tax under the current proposal, but fears it could pave the way for taxes on millionaires like him.

“I think it was less of a matter of immediate finances,” Barr told Fortune. Instead, he pointed to what he described as California’s “anti-entrepreneurial” political rhetoric.

His decision raises the question dividing California: would taxing its biggest fortunes help pay for essential services, or make the state a less attractive place to build a business? Barr sees it as a warning sign, but supporters see a way to protect healthcare without sacrificing the talent and investment that draw businesses there. The debate has national stakes too. States invest in the public services that help businesses grow, but can lose the chance to tax some of that wealth when residents move before cashing out. 

Billionaire flight gets the attention, but wealth can leave in quieter ways. Founders like Barr can choose where to build before their fortunes are big enough to tax, and residents who already have them can move before cashing out. States invest in the public services that help businesses grow, but can lose the chance to tax that wealth when it moves. The debate has national stakes, too.

Billionaire flight gets the attention, but wealth can leave in quieter ways. Founders like Barr can choose where to build before their fortunes are big enough to tax, and residents who already have them can move before cashing out. States invest in the public services that help businesses grow, but can lose the chance to tax that wealth when it moves. The debate has national stakes, too.

Proposition 40, on the Nov. 3 ballot, would impose a one-time 5% tax on qualifying billionaires who were California residents on Jan. 1, 2026. It would tax accumulated wealth rather than annual income, with most of........

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