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SACRAMENTO — A corporate tax policy that costs California billions in lost tax revenue each year could be coming to an end as the state struggles to backfill federal cuts and resolve a looming budget deficit.

The proposed legislation, Assembly Bill 1790, would repeal the so-called “water’s edge” tax break, a filing option that allows multinational corporations to exclude the income of their foreign subsidiaries from state taxation.

“The tax bills of the wealthiest, most powerful corporations in the world are at all-time lows,” Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael), one of the primary sponsors of the bill, told The Times. “Meanwhile, we’re struggling to fund programs that feed children — I think everyone understands that now is the time for long-term budget solutions.”

Republican Sen. Roger Niello, vice chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, said the bill to repeal water’s edge won’t receive support from GOP lawmakers. He said the legislation would lead to double taxation, meaning the same income would be taxed twice by different countries, and compared taxing corporations’ foreign profits to enacting tariffs.

“California already has the reputation of being not particularly business friendly,” said Niello (R-Fair Oaks). “This would really just compound that.”

A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom did not respond to a request for comment about the governor’s views on the proposal. Newsom, however, has largely shunned new tax increase proposals.

Legislation to increase taxes requires a two-thirds approval vote instead of a simple majority. Democrats in California hold a supermajority in both the Assembly and Senate, meaning the bill could still pass without Republican support, but it would require backing from the progressive and moderate wings of the party.

Kayla Kitson, a senior analyst at the California Budget and Policy Center, said the measure has a decent chance of winning support among moderate Democrats due to the state’s budgetary woes.

“The stakes are really high this year,” she said. “With any tax policy, it’s certainly hard to get folks beyond the progressive community on board, but there are a lot of discussions happening behind closed doors given the challenges that the state knows it’s going to have to deal with in the next few years.”

When filing taxes, a multinational corporation in the United States can currently choose between two methods. Worldwide reporting takes into account all of the corporation’s global profits or losses, while the water’s edge option allows the U.S.-based parent company to exclude the income of foreign subsidiaries. This can help corporations that own profitable foreign companies pay less taxes in the United States.

California is scrambling for solutions as the state is facing an estimated $18-billion budget deficit and fallout from federal cuts that slashed healthcare. A Republican-backed tax and spending bill signed last year by President Trump shifted federal funding away from safety net programs and toward tax cuts and immigration enforcement.

Carl Davis, a research director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said the idea is picking up momentum nationwide, with states like Maryland, Minnesota and New Hampshire also considering a repeal in recent years, due to a growing awareness about profit shifting — a loophole in the water’s edge tax break that some corporations use to reduce their tax burdens by shifting profits made in a high-tax country into tax havens.

“Folks are outraged when they hear that these companies are pretending that they are earning their profits in the Caymans or in Switzerland and are skipping out on paying U.S. taxes as a result,” he said. “That feels insulting to a lot of people who are paying the taxes they owe every day.”

During an informational hearing at the Legislature last month, Rowan Isaaks, an economist with the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, said the state does not know the extent to which corporations use profit shifting, which makes it impossible to determine exactly how much revenue California would gain by eliminating the water’s edge tax exemption. But he estimated it would bring in “single digit billions” for the state each year.

“While there would be revenue gains, the Legislature also faces a trade-off between broadening the tax base but also managing additional uncertainty,” said Isaaks, explaining it could increase budget volatility because foreign income is more sensitive to global economic conditions.

Issaks added that the Legislative Analyst’s Office has found no strong evidence that companies would flee California if the water’s edge tax break was repealed.

Jennifer Barton, director of the legislative services bureau for the California Franchise Tax Board, told legislators that mandating worldwide reporting wouldn’t be difficult for the state from an administrative standpoint, only requiring some additional outreach or educational efforts.

California Tax Foundation visiting fellow Jared Walczak said that the water’s edge option exists for a reason and that it would be unfair to mandate worldwide reporting. “The vast majority of the activity abroad is true economic activity abroad,” he told lawmakers. “Companies don’t just exist in the United States; they have sales, they have manufacturing, they do things abroad.”

A survey last year from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found 63% of adult Americans believe large corporations or businesses should pay more in taxes, while 19% want corporate taxes to be lower and 17% believe corporate tax policy should remain the same.

Tech companies appear to be particularly aggressive with profit shifting. Six U.S. multinational corporations — Apple, Cisco, EBay, Facebook, Google and Microsoft — may have underpaid their U.S. corporate income taxes by $277 billion over varying periods from 2009 through 2022, according to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Repealing the water’s edge tax break isn’t the only tax-related proposal being considered as the state seeks to increase revenue. The Billionaire Tax Act is a controversial proposed state ballot initiative that would levy a one-time, 5% tax on the state’s billionaires to help offset federal cuts. Newsom is among its critics.

Davis believes it will continue to be a hot topic regardless of the bill’s outcome this year.

“There is very good reason to think this [repeal] is going to happen at some point,” he said. “This is a debate that is certainly not going away.”

SORRY ladies, there is only room for one Mrs Beckham.

Over the past year, queen bee Victoria has seen son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola go all out to prove they have no wish or need to be part of the Beckham family brand.

Instead, they have made moves to cement themselves as a rival power couple with global appeal.

In January’s now infamous Instagram rant aimed at his parents, Brooklyn said of his wedding: “My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance.”

Conjuring an image that has been lampooned across the internet ­endlessly, he added: “She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.”

But considering how much they claim to want to detach themselves from Brooklyn’s famous mum, it’s Nicola’s appearance that has us all doing a double-take.

By all accounts, she seems to be morphing into a Victoria avatar.

Both women have posed for pics in slinky catsuits.

And on Monday, Nicola shared a topless mirror selfie wearing just a pair of tights while prepping for her upcoming ballerina film Prima — instantly sparking comparisons yet again with her equally slender mother-in-law.

Is it just an uncanny coincidence?

Or is this the US-born 31-year-old’s ­declaration that — though there might be one Mrs Beckham — Mrs Peltz-Beckham has real girl power and is ready to steal the spotlight?

The proof, of course, is in the pouting.

A true copycat

IT’S not just Vic’s red carpet outfits and off-duty dressing that Nicola likes to imitate.

In fact, she looks to her mother-in-law when it comes to fancy dress too.

And she’s took posh appearance in it as a PVC catsuit clad Catwoman for a 2018 Vogue shoot his inspiration for her own sexy feline cosplay.

They say immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But when it comes to Nic versus Vic, the claws are out.

Met their match

FORGET Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake in double denim.

When it comes to twinning nobody did it better than Victoria and David Beckham, who used every photo call in the nineties to share a matching moment.

The double shiny leather to those famous purple wedding day numbers the pair made history.

Nicola and Brooklyn have duly tried to take the mantle, posing in matching pyjamas, Burberry and tuxes.

But they’re double trouble antiques seems somewhat amateur in comparison.

Our advice? More pleather!

Oh, jacket in

NICOLA was once keen to show she had earned her stripes as part of Clan Beckham – channelling Victoria’s vintage Dolce & Gabbana biker jacket.

She was seen wearing the statement piece on a 2024 trip to Paris for Fashion Week – more than two decades after Posh Spice Vic teamed it with chequerboard jeans and a pair of tinted aviators to watch

Manchester United be crowned Premier League Champions in 2001.

Now I’m the mane attraction

ONCE a committed blonde, Nicola made a bold statement when she ditched the bleach in 2022.

Before then, her golden locks were a trademark, drawing comparisons to her own mother, ex-model Claudia Peltz.

But after giving the colour one last hurrah at her wedding in May that year, Nicola embraced her “wifey” era with a brand-new barnet suspiciously like Vic’s brunette, mid-length do.

Dyeing for attention, maybe?

Pipped at the post

WHEN it comes to getting sentimental online, Victoria is a pro.

She often uses Instagram to declare her love for her brood.

In fact, she even did it yesterday to wish Brooklyn a happy birthday, telling him: “I love you so much” – despite the fact her estranged son had blocked his whole family on the site and requested his parents do not interact with him or tag him in posts.

Naturally, Nicola is just as effusive, regularly writing, “I love you baby” and uploading smoochy snaps to her own social media – letting Brooklyn, and the world, know that she can get soppy, too.

A pattern’s emerging here

IF Victoria airs her love on Instagram, David does it on his body.

He has famously tattooed it inch by inch to create a tapestry of tributes to his family, including the words “Posh” and “Victoria”, which are emblazoned on his hands.

Not one to be outdone, Brooklyn is following suit, decking out his body with tattooed tributes to Nicola – and he even has an image of her eyes inked on his neck.

Staring out from behind him, they firmly tell the world: “I’m the only Mrs Beckham that matters”.

I don’t give a ship

LOUNGING on the back of her £16million family yacht with loved ones is among Victoria’s favourite pastimes.

And for a while, Nicola would have happily soaked up the sun beside her as they sailed the Mediterranean.

But since the family schism, Brooklyn and Nicola have been holidaying sans Beckhams – instead, joining Nic’s family last summer on their much bigger superyacht in the south of France.

Yes, they pushed the boat out – leaving choppy waters in their wake.

They’ll make them see red

THERE is nothing Victoria and David love more than a romantic dinner together.

The couple often share snapshots from special anniversaries as they clink glasses next to a super-expensive bottle of wine.

So it is no surprise that Nicola and Brooklyn have added that to the list of “things we can do, too” – recently sharing a stream of photos from their loved-up date nights, each with a glass of pricey red in hand.

They really are sips off the old block.

You’ve got a lot of front

VICTORIA has graced the front page of hundreds of fancy magazines over the years – posing for in excess of 30 international Vogue covers, in addition to the likes of Elle, Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar.

Still, Nicola is clipping at her heels, having graced the cover of Glamour Germany’s Love Issue last year alongside Brooklyn.

She even nabbed her own solo cover for Tatler in 2022, which bore the controversial headline, “The New Mrs Beckham”.

Ouch!

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, pictured in February at the White House, announced in a memo that the Defense Department is ending its senior officer fellowship programs with 22 institutions — including Ivy League schools — after alleging that they do not measure up the armed forces’ requirements. File Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo

March 1 (UPI) — The Defense Department is ending its relationships with several Ivy League universities and think tanks that service members are permitted to attend.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ended graduate school fellowships at 22 institutions starting with the 2026-2027 academic years, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale, Princeton, the Center for Strategic and International Studies and The Brookings Institution, according to a memo released by the DOD.

The memo follows a Feb. 7 announcement that the DOD would end stop sending officers to Harvard as part of its Senior Service College Fellowship programs, which Hegseth said in the memo is being retooled and offered list of institutions that offer equivalent programs.

Like Harvard, the expanded list of institutions the department is removing from its SSC programs are alleged to be “woke” and no longer meet requirements for officers in the armed forces.

“Our Professional Military Education institutions are among our most sacred and essential means to restore and maintain the warrior ethos within the [DOD],” Hegseth said. “It is imperative that our war fighter education system forges strategic senior leaders who are trained to think critically, free of bias and influence.”

In a press release, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the “Aligning Senior Service College Opportunities with American Values” memo directs the DOD to focus SSC fellowships away from institutions that “diminish critical thinking, have significant adversary involvement or fail to deliver rigorous education grounded in realism.”

Universities that are replacing the Ivy League schools include three senior military colleges and three DOD or U.S. government programs, as well as 15 other universities, including Liberty, George Mason, Tennessee, Michigan, Iowa State and Hillsdale College.

Currently enrolled DOD personnel will be permitted to finish their courses of study, but the new policy and list of acceptable institutions applies to all personnel starting this fall, Hegseth said.

After some initial resistance, CBS News has cut ties with contributor Peter Attia, whose name appears more than 1,700 times in the files of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Attia, a physician who specializes in longevity medicine, was among the 19 contributors named last month by CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss. A CBS News executive confirmed Attia’s departure Monday.

Attia’s resignation was agreed upon after discussions with Weiss, according to one of her associates. He had not appeared on the network since the announcement of his hiring in January.

Once Attia’s name showed up in the cache of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice earlier this month, it seemed as though cutting him loose would be a no-brainer for the news division.

But Weiss, who came to CBS News when parent company Paramount acquired her contrarian digital site the Free Press last fall, is highly skeptical of cancel culture and resisted immediate action, according to people familiar with her thinking.

A representative for Attia said he quit because “he wanted to ensure his involvement didn’t become a distraction from the important work being done at CBS.”

Any appearance on the network probably would have generated a spate of negative stories.

Attia’s email exchanges with Epstein included a crude discussion about female genitalia.

Another message showed Attia expressing dismay that he could not discuss Epstein’s activities. “You [know] the biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul …,” Attia wrote.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution, including from a minor. He was found dead in his jail cell in 2019, about a month after being arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges

From a business standpoint, keeping Attia at CBS was untenable. Health-related segments are attractive to advertisers and it’s highly unlikely that any sponsor would want their commercials adjacent to him.

Attia had already been dropped by AGI, a company that makes powdered supplements,where he was a scientific advisor. He also stepped away from his role as chief science officer for David, a protein bar maker.

CBS News pulled an October “60 Minutes” profile of Attia that was scheduled to re-air this month.

Attia apologized for his interactions with Epstein. He said he had not been involved in any criminal activity and had never visited Epstein’s island.

“I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me,” Attia wrote. “I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it.”

Attia wrote the bestselling book “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” and hosts a popular podcast. His company, Early Medical, offers a program that teaches people to live healthier as they age.

WASHINGTON — New whistleblower documents detail substantial cuts by the Trump administration to the training requirements for new immigration officers.

Among the cuts are the elimination of practical exams, use of force and legal training courses, and an overall reduction in training time, contrary to an official’s testimony to Congress earlier this month.

The documents, provided to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) by whistleblowers from the Department of Homeland Security, were publicly revealed ahead of a forum Monday afternoon with congressional Democrats — the third in recent weeks probing what the members view as abusive and illegal tactics used by federal agents.

Lauren Bis, deputy assistant public affairs secretary at DHS, said no training hours have been cut.

“Our officers receive extensive firearm training, are taught de-escalation tactics, and receive 4th and 5th Amendment comprehensive instruction,” she said. “The training does not stop after graduation from the academy. Recruits are put on a rigorous on-the-job training program that is tracked and monitored.”

Blumenthal’s office also disclosed the identity of one whistleblower: Ryan Schwank, an attorney who most recently served as an instructor for new Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruits at the ICE Academy within the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia. Schwank, who resigned Feb. 13, is scheduled to testify at the forum.

Schwank is one of two whistleblowers who made a confidential disclosure to Blumenthal’s office last month regarding an ICE policy allowing agents to enter people’s homes without a judicial warrant.

In excerpted quotes from Schwank’s prepared testimony shared with The Times, he calls the training program “deficient, defective and broken.”

“Deficient training can and will get people killed,” he wrote. “It can and will lead to unlawful arrests, violations of constitutional rights, and a fundamental loss of public trust in law enforcement. ICE is lying to Congress and the American people about the steps it is taking to ensure its 10,000 new officers faithfully uphold the Constitution and can perform their jobs.”

Blumenthal’s office did not confirm whether Schwank or the other, still anonymous whistleblower provided the documents released Monday in a 90-page memorandum from minority staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The documents show ICE has eliminated more than a dozen practical exams that ICE officers previously needed to graduate. In July 2021, a cadet needed to pass 25 practical exams to graduate. Now, nine are required.

Eliminated exams include “Judgment pistol shooting,” “Criminal encounters,” and “Determine removability.”

“All of these are now instead evaluated, if at all, mainly by open-book, multiple-choice written exams and without any graded practical examinations,” the memo states.

Comparisons between the program’s syllabus table of contents and general information sections from July 2025 — before the surge in hiring — and this month show that ICE appears to have cut whole courses, such as use of force simulation training, U.S. government structure, criminal vs. removal proceedings, and use of force.

Earlier this month, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testified to Congress that while the agency had reduced the number of training days to 42 from 75, “We went from five days a week to six days a week. Five days a week was five eight-hour days. We’ve gone to six 12-hour days.”

But the documents appear to contradict Lyons’ testimony.

“The schedules reflected on these documents indicate that current ICE recruits receive nearly 250 fewer hours of training than previous cohorts of recruits,” the memo states.

The training reductions come as ICE plans to bring up more than 4,000 new Enforcement and Removal Operations officers this fiscal year, which ends in September. One of the documents notes that ICE had graduated 803 new officers in 2026 as of Jan. 29 and projected 3,204 more graduates by the end of the fiscal year.

In a written statement, Blumenthal encouraged more whistleblowers to come forward.

“We know about the Trump Administration’s decimation of training for immigration officers and its secret policy to shred your Constitutional rights because of the brave Americans who are speaking out today,” he wrote. “They are coming to Congress because we have the responsibility to not only bear witness to these crimes, but to do something to make sure they don’t happen again.”