Keep Jobs in California Act of 2026
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Keep Jobs in California Act of 2026 prohibits a state from imposing a tax on a nonresident individual based on the value of that person's assets when two conditions are met. First, the tax is attributable to asset value during a period before the state law creating the tax was enacted. Second, the individual no longer resides in that state on the state law's enactment date.
The bill does not prohibit a state from taxing current residents, from imposing a prospective asset-value tax after enactment, or from collecting another kind of tax not covered by the text. It creates a narrow federal restriction on retroactive state asset taxation of people who have already become nonresidents.
Who Benefits and How
Former state residents and other nonresident individuals with assets potentially covered by a retroactive state wealth or asset-value tax benefit because the state cannot reach pre-enactment periods after they have left. Their financial advisers and tax preparers gain a clearer federal rule for this narrow fact pattern. The bill may reduce uncertainty for individuals considering interstate relocation before a new state asset-tax law is enacted.
Who Bears the Burden and How
States considering retroactive asset-value taxes lose authority to collect that tax from people who are nonresidents on enactment day. State revenue accounts bear any resulting reduction in expected collections, and state tax administrators must screen residency dates and pre-enactment valuation periods before assessing a covered tax. Current residents and prospective post-enactment taxation remain outside this federal restriction.
Key Provisions
- Applies only to taxes based on the value of an individual's assets.
- Protects individuals who are nonresidents when the state tax law is enacted.
- Covers asset-value periods occurring before enactment of the state law.
- Bars the state from combining those conditions into a retroactive assessment.
- Does not bar prospective taxation after enactment.
- Does not bar taxation of people who remain state residents on enactment day.
- Does not create a federal appropriation, credit, deduction, or reporting program.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Prohibits states from applying a newly enacted asset-value tax retroactively to periods before enactment when the taxed individual is a nonresident on the state law's enactment date.
Key Policy Areas
Taxation, State Revenue, Interstate Mobility, Nonresident Taxation
Primary Purpose
Prohibits states from applying a newly enacted asset-value tax retroactively to periods before enactment when the taxed individual is a nonresident on the state law's enactment date.
Policy Domains
Section 2 prohibition on retroactive state asset tax
Identified Gains
- Former residents facing retroactive asset taxes
- Nonresident asset owners
- Tax advisers serving interstate movers
- Individuals considering interstate relocation
Identified Costs
- States planning retroactive asset taxes
- State asset-tax revenue accounts
- State residency-review staff
- State asset-valuation auditors
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Mr. Kiley of California introduced the following bill; which was …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
State asset-tax revenue accounts, State residency-review staff, States planning retroactive asset taxes
Former residents facing retroactive asset taxes, Nonresident asset owners
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "state"
- → State imposing an asset-value tax
- "nonresident"
- → Individual not residing in the taxing state on the state law's enactment date
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A state tax based on an individual's asset value for a pre-enactment period when the individual is a nonresident on the state law's enactment date.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology