California Proposed Wealth Tax Prompts Ohio Entrepreneur to Cancel Move

When a single proposed state tax measure influences where a business founder chooses to operate, it illustrates how subnational fiscal policy can interact with federal economic and workforce...

Emil Barr, 23, the founder of Columbus, Ohio-based workforce technology company Flashpass, has publicly stated he scrapped plans to relocate to San Francisco after California lawmakers advanced a proposed wealth tax, according to a New York Post report published October 18, 2026. Barr said the state's fiscal and political climate was the deciding factor in his decision.

Flashpass, the company Barr founded, provides job-search and skills-development services to laid-off workers, according to the same report. The company is currently based in Columbus, Ohio, a state with a flat income tax structure and no wealth tax on assets.

California's proposed wealth tax, formally introduced in the state legislature as Assembly Bill 259 in 2023 and reintroduced in subsequent sessions, would apply an annual tax on the worldwide net worth of California residents above a threshold of $50 million, with a higher rate above $1 billion. The bill has not been signed into law as of this publication's date of October 18, 2026. The current status of the most recent legislative version was not confirmed in the source material reviewed for this report. The California Legislature's official bill tracking system would be the definitive record.

Barr, who immigrated to the United States from Russia at age three, told the New York Post that the proposed tax and broader regulatory environment could discourage young entrepreneurs from basing operations in California, and could reduce job creation for residents who might otherwise benefit from startups choosing to locate there.

The policy debate around wealth taxes in California has federal relevance because California's personal income tax collections affect the state's fiscal position, which in turn affects its reliance on, or competition with, federal economic development grants and workforce funding. The U.S. Department of Labor administers Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funds that flow to states including California and Ohio. How those funds interact with state tax climates is a separate question that Barr's comments do not directly address.

California is not the only state to have considered a wealth tax. Washington state passed a capital gains excise tax in 2021, which the Washington Supreme Court upheld in 2023 in Quinn v. State of Washington. Connecticut, Illinois, and New York have each seen similar proposals introduced at the legislative level, though none have enacted a net-worth-based annual wealth tax as of this writing.

At the federal level, congressional Democrats have introduced versions of a wealth tax in multiple sessions. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, most recently in the 118th Congress. That measure did not advance to a floor vote in either the Senate or the House, according to the congressional record maintained by Congress.gov.

Republicans in both chambers have opposed wealth tax proposals, citing constitutional questions under the Apportionment Clause of Article I and economic arguments about capital flight. Democrats supporting such measures argue the revenue would fund public services and reduce inequality. Neither argument is adjudicated here.

Barr's stated concern about capital and talent mobility echoes arguments made in academic literature on state tax competition, including work published by the National Bureau of Economic Research examining migration patterns of high-income individuals in response to state income tax changes. Whether a proposed but unenacted state tax produces measurable relocation effects before it becomes law is a question the source material does not resolve.

What remains unknown: the current bill number and committee status of California's most recently introduced wealth tax legislation in the 2025 to 2026 session, the exact asset level at which Barr's personal holdings would be subject to the proposed tax if he relocated, and whether Flashpass has received any state or federal workforce development grants in Ohio or applied for any in California. California's Legislative Information portal and the U.S. Department of Labor's USASpending grant records would be the appropriate sources to answer those questions.