In his first year as governor, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife earned $1.7 million, about $500,000 more than the previous year, according to his 2019 tax bill released Monday (May 17) by the state’s campaign headquarters.
The Associated Press reported that Newsom and his wife paid about $712,000 in federal and state taxes in 2019. The increase in revenue came in part from Newsom’s winery and restaurant business.
Newsom founded the PlumpJack Group, which encompasses the winery and restaurant business and is currently run by his sister and cousin, from which he received about $1.3 million in passive income in 2019, compared with $775,000 in 2018.
After being elected governor, Newsom placed these businesses under a confidential trust for family and friends (Blind Trust), and the business names of his personal property are shielded on his tax returns. The names of each business are not listed on their 2019 tax returns, so there is no way to know exactly which businesses are profitable and which are losing money. The Newsoms have several other trusts and businesses.
The report also noted that Newsom’s annual salary as California governor was $175,000, up from the $151,000 he earned as lieutenant governor. In addition, he earned $39,000 from writing children’s books and $146 from other countries through his wife’s confidential trust, even though his tax returns show they have no financial accounts or trusts in foreign countries.
Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel, earned $39,000 from writing children’s books and $146 from other countries through her wife’s confidential trust, even though their tax returns show no financial accounts or trusts in foreign countries. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker, earned $151,000 in 2019 through the Representation Project, a nonprofit organization she founded, and through her In addition, she earned about $50,000 through her production company, Girls Club Entertainment, plus residual payments from her previous acting work, bringing her total earnings to about $202,000.
Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom, said the Newsoms usually file an extension for their tax return and then file their taxes in October. That means the Newsoms have not yet filed their 2020 return, and there is no way to know what his family’s financial income will be after the strict corporate restraining order placed on Newsom during the outbreak.
Also in 2019, the Newsom family moved to suburban Sacramento and rented out their Marin County property for $140,000, but their tax return reported a loss of nearly $250,000 on the property.
Newsom also sold the Napa property he co-owned with his sister and father for $79,000, and he made $3,000 on a property in Hawaii. In terms of expenses, Newsom paid $288,000 in salaries to employees in his home.
Newsom was elected in 2018 on a promise to release his tax returns annually. But at the same time, he signed a law in 2019 that requires his opponents, all candidates for governor, to also publicly disclose their personal tax returns for the last five years. The Secretary of State must post a revised version of the tax returns online for public inspection.
Now, because the private “Recall Newsom 2020” campaign has collected enough valid voter signatures, Newsom will face a special recall election at the end of this year, at which time the gubernatorial candidates may also be forced to release their tax returns. However, it is unclear whether the law Newsom signed applies to the special recall election.
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