Gavin Newsom is pushing a national wealth and inheritance tax, framed as taxing billionaires — but the threshold keeps shrinking, which could end up hitting the middle class.

• Newsom's first pitch targeted people worth $100 million, then quietly edited that number out to call it a "Buffett rule" so it polls better.
• The fear is the real trigger for the inheritance tax lands much lower — possibly around $1 million — far below the billionaires it claims to target.
• Even labor unions and Planned Parenthood in California are warning the tax could gut funding for schools, a sign supporters are nervous about how it's raised.
• Europe tried annual wealth taxes — France, Sweden, Denmark — and most repealed them because the rich leave and the money never matches projections.
• Inheritance taxes on family businesses and farms can force owners to sell just to pay the bill, draining productive money from the economy.

Outlook: Newsom missed the deadline to keep a state wealth tax off California's November ballot, so the fight over it heads to voters.