WSJ: How the Proposed California Billionaire Tax Became a ‘Hot Mess’ for Democrats
Supporters say the measure would raise $100 billion over five years for health care, while opponents warn it could drive wealthy residents and businesses away.
- On November 3, California voters will decide whether to adopt Proposition 40, a ballot measure imposing a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of roughly 200 billionaires.
- Backers designed the measure to generate up to $100 billion to offset federal healthcare funding cuts, with SEIU United Healthcare Workers West president Dave Regan warning cuts could leave nearly 3 million Californians without insurance.
- Opponents, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, have raised more than $300 million to defeat the measure while backing Propositions 41 and 42, which could nullify the tax if they receive more votes.
- The campaign has divided Democrats, with Governor Gavin Newsom calling Proposition 40 "a flawed initiative," while Senator Bernie Sanders champions it as the "most important ballot initiative in the country."
- A Hoover Institution study projects California could lose $25 billion due to billionaire flight, though supporters argue the tax could establish a national model for funding essential public services.
192 Articles
192 Articles
Will California pass a Billionaire’s Tax?
As the US midterm election approach, one measure in California is attracting a lot of attention. It’s called the billionaire’s tax and could be the America’s first wealth tax exclusively on billionaires. CGTN's Mark Niu reports.For more, check out our
NEWS HEADLINES: California May Take 5% of Billionaires’ WEALTH
Photo: Steve Sanchez Photos / Shutterstock California’s Proposition 40 is less a skirmish about taxing the rich than a stress test of whether a state can convert a highly concentrated, hard-to-value pool of private wealth into reliable, near-term public funding for healthcare without breaking its own revenue engine in the process. At a Glance Prop 40 imposes a one-time 5% tax on Californians worth $1 billion or more, keyed to residency on Januar…
Silicon Valley billionaires shell out to defeat Proposition 40
Californians are already voting on whether to implement a one-time 5% tax on billionaires that could generate as much as $100 billion toward healthcare and other social services over the next five years. And local billionaires are weighing in — with their wallets. Approximately 200 billionaires in California would be subject to the Proposition 40 tax, the majority of whom live in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the 2026 Forbes Billionai…
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