The state of California anticipates generating billions in tax revenues from the Facebook IPO which is supposed to take place this Friday morning.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office predicts the state will receive some $2.1 billion over the next year from the public offering as employees cash in their stock options. This would result in revenue approximating one-fifth of California’s total economic growth during that same time frame.
Of course, these predictions are based on a number of assumptions:
- The Facebook IPO will go down this Friday as expected
- Shares will be priced at $38 and then trade at $45 six months from now
- Voters will pass Governor Brown’s tax increase affecting the IPO transactions
California expects to rake $195 million on day one when Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, exercises options to buy 60 million shares at 6 cents each. The difference between Zuckerberg’s price and the market price is considered income, and the one thing we know about income is that it’s taxable.