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Los Angeles County quietly mailed tax notices this week to a string of high-profile private jet owners — including Jeff Bezos and Rihanna — saying they owe six-figure sums for unpaid aircraft property taxes. The move lit up headlines after the county’s effort to find “habitually situated” planes turned up what officials say are millions in escaped assessments.
Under California law, private aircraft that are routinely based in a county are subject to an annual property tax of roughly 1% of assessed value, and owners are supposed to self-report those planes to local assessors. County investigators leaned on flight-tracking records to pinpoint where jets actually spend their time and to calculate what they say is owed.
The list of names is eyebrow-raising: Bezos reportedly faced about $244,000, a jet tied to Rihanna about $104,000, Stan Kroenke was billed for roughly $290,000 across two planes, and other figures include notices to Phil Knight and the creators of South Park. County officials say the sweep could account for roughly $38 million in unpaid taxes and reassessed value.
Conservatives should welcome the principle that no one is above the law, but we must also be clear-eyed: this smells a lot like performative grandstanding from county officials who want headlines and political points. Enforcing tax law is one thing; weaponizing surveillance to shame successful Americans is another, and the line between the two must be guarded.
There are real due-process questions here. Aircraft owners can and do dispute assessments when a plane spends considerable time outside the county — the assessor’s office is supposed to prorate based on actual usage — and notices are not the same as final judgments. If local officials are going to use flight-tracking firms to build cases, taxpayers deserve a transparent, auditable process and a chance to defend themselves.
This episode also exposes a double standard from coastal elites who lecture the rest of America about fairness while quietly structuring assets to minimize scrutiny. If the law requires reporting, then report and pay; but if the law is being stretched or applied selectively to feed a political narrative, that’s a problem conservatives should oppose just as loudly.
Prudence demands two things from our side: insist on equal enforcement of tax laws without selective persecution, and insist on protecting property rights and privacy against overbroad government snooping. Call out the hypocrisy when celebrities dodge scrutiny, but do not applaud a tax-collector circus that treats law enforcement like a press release.
Hardworking Americans want fair rules and honest government, not spectacle. If Los Angeles County has legitimate claims, pursue them through fair hearings and clear evidence; if this is cheap virtue-signaling from elected bureaucrats, voters should remember who is busy policing private property while leaving real problems unanswered.
