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They've tried this twice already, although neither bill went through:

https://scocablog.com/exit-taxes-in-california-not-so-fast/

Especially egregious was a 10-year look back so even if you left years before the taxes would take effect, they'd still fleece you.

The way California's finances are going, and the way the state is degenerating, it's only a matter of time until they get serious and pass some form of this. It probably won't pass legal muster, but they'll do it anyway and spend years fighting it in courts.

Not quite the same, but you may own CA taxes on stock options if you earned them while living in CA even if you don't live there when you cash them in.

https://www.upstartwealth.com/blog/will-you-owe-ca-tax-after...

That was proposed a few years ago, but i dont have a link.

What would a tax like that even look like?

I assume it would be the state trying to claw back investment or benefits they gave to a resident.

Found a link:

https://moskowitzllp.com/californias-exit-tax-explained/

Thanks!

Based on this, it seems like "exit tax" is a bit of a misnomer -- the proposal was just to tax people even after they've left California, but they would have paid the tax even if they hadn't left.