A viral moment from a California gubernatorial debate has put billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer under renewed scrutiny after he appeared to reject the idea that he should personally pay more taxes to tackle inequality.The exchange occurred Wednesday in San Francisco, where Steyer clashed with Republican Steve Hilton. Hilton claimed on stage that Steyer pays the lowest tax rate of “anyone at this level”.“My wife and I have said that we will give away the bulk of our money while we’re alive,” Steyer said at Wednesday night’s debate.He added, “But me paying more taxes is not the solution.”“If one person puts more money into government it’s not going to be solved, we need structural change,” Steyer said in the exchange.The comments went viral and were seized upon by opponents, prompting an attack ad from the California Is Not for Sale Committee. The group accused Steyer of hypocrisy, linked him to businesses linked to Donald Trump as well as past investments in companies linked to coal and private prisons, and suggested he had used offshore structures.Steyer spokesman Danny Wang rejected the claims, saying: “Despite these misguided efforts, Tom’s position has remained steadfast on taxing billionaires like himself, and he is the only candidate in the race calling for billionaires to pay more.”Steyer is estimated to be worth approximately $2.4 billion and is running on a progressive platform that includes higher taxes on corporations and a proposed 5% levy on the net worth of California billionaires. He has also called for the abolition of ICE.However, questions over continuity have haunted him before. Earlier this month, Steyer apologized after criticism surfaced over past investments by his hedge fund Farallon Capital Management in CoreCivic, a company that operates immigration detention centers in California. Farallon’s stake in the firm was once valued at $89.1 million.
