Gavin Newsom made $1.2M the year he was elected California governor, tax returns show
Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom made $1.2 million dollars in 2018, mostly from wine businesses, according to tax returns viewed by The Bee.
On Friday, the governor’s office let reporters view, but not photograph or copy, the Newsoms’ 2018 tax returns. Reporters had 45 minutes to study the filing, which contained more than 150 pages.
The returns show the Newsoms paid nearly 30 percent of their income in federal taxes and an additional 10 percent in state taxes. The Newsoms reported giving more than $25,000 to charity, about 2 percent of their total income.
Their adjusted gross income before taxes was $1,206,688. Nearly half came from Airelle Wines, Inc., one of the companies in Newsom’s portfolio of wineries, hotels and restaurants.
During his campaign, Newsom let reporters view his 2010-2015 tax returns. During that time period, Newsom and Siebel Newsom averaged $1.45 million per year in income and paid about 26 percent in federal taxes and 9.5 percent in state taxes. They also gave away about $100,000 a year on average to charitable causes, according to the returns.
Newsom got an extension on his 2018 taxes and filed them on Oct. 15, 2019. They encompass the final year of his campaign for governor, during which he was still serving as lieutenant governor.
Newsom has promised to release his tax returns every year, an effort ethics experts have said puts him in sound ethical territory, while also drawing a contrast with his political rival President Donald Trump.
Trump, like Newsom, made much of his fortune in the hospitality business. In 2016, Trump became the first presidential candidate in decades to refuse to release his tax returns. Trump also resisted calls to divest from his businesses or put them in a blind trust, instead handing control to his children.
In 2019, Newsom signed a law aimed at Trump that would have forced presidential candidates to release their tax returns to appear on California ballots. That law has since been struck down in court.
Since taking office, Newsom has put his businesses in a blind trust managed by attorney and Newsom family friend Shyla Hendrickson, who is legally barred from informing Newsom about businesses in the trust.
Newsom also issued an executive order forbidding state executive branch agencies from doing business with PlumpJack Group, the hospitality company he founded.
Ethics experts have praised Newsom’s efforts to insulate himself from his businesses, although they’ve noted the companies could still pose an ethical conflict when Newsom is considering legislation that would affect them.