San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
NEWSOM, WIFE REPORT MORE THAN $1.2M INCOME IN ’18, LAST YEAR AS LT. GOVERNOR
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife reported more than $1.2 million in income during his final year as the state’s lieutenant governor, the majority of it from outside business interests.
Newsom made good on a campaign promise by allowing reporters to review his 2018 income tax filing on Friday. He also plans to release returns every year he’s governor. Newsom has not yet filed his 2019 taxes.
Last year Newsom, a Democrat, signed a first-in-the-nation law that would have required President Donald Trump to release his returns if he was to appear on the state primary ballot. The California Supreme Court ultimately rejected it as unconstitutional.
Newsom’s 2018 return showed nearly $394,000 in wages, of which about $151,000 was his state salary. His wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is a filmmaker and actress with her own outside income, though the couple filed jointly.
Their $1.2 million in total income was reduced to about $973,000 in taxable income through various business and other deductions, including $25,683 in unspecified charitable contributions and declaring his four young children as dependents.
The family’s tax filing seems “pretty straightforward,” said Arthur “Kip” Dellinger, a certified public accountant and senior tax partner with Cooper, Moss, Resnick, Klein & Co.
Newsom donated about 2 percent to charity.
He reported additional net income of more than $775,000 under a listing for rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, trusts and other business interests.
Newsom founded The Plumpjack Group in 1992, which owns a hotel, four Napa Valley wineries, and bars, restaurants, and wine and liquor stores.
Airelle Wines Inc., which includes his Napa wineries, provided a net income of about $580,000. Falstaff Management Group Inc. provided more than $84,000.
Newsom promised, after he was elected governor, that he would give up control and bar state agencies from doing business with his firms to avoid conflicts of interest. Newsom transferred his assests to a blind trust, saying he couldn’t bear to sell businesses he’s cultivated for decades.