your policy that gives that forty percent tax cut to the wealthiest
OverstatedXavier Becerra, at California Governor General Election Debate (CNN)
9:13 amWhy this verdict View evidenceHide evidence
Why we checked itA 40,000% tax cut is an extraordinary and specific figure attributed to Steve Hilton's policy — if inaccurate or wildly exaggerated, it materially misleads voters about the opponent's tax proposal.
What we foundHilton's plan does cut taxes on the wealthiest Californians, and the drop from a 13.3% top marginal rate to 8% is mathematically close to 40% — but this measures only the top marginal rate, not effective tax rates, making '40% tax cut to the wealthiest' an imprecise and potentially exaggerated characterisation.
CorrectedCorrection: the transcribed wording was corrected on 2026-10-01 and the claim re-checked. Transcription error: Becerra said 'forty percent', transcribed as 'forty thousand percent'. The original verdict also checked whether he said it rather than whether it is true. Text corrected, verdict cleared for re-check.