California’s proposed tax on billionaires’ wealth is closing in on the November ballot.
Backers of the initiative say they have gathered more than 1.5 million signatures, well above the roughly 875,000 required, to put a one-time 5 percent levy on residents worth $1 billion or more before voters, the Wall Street Journal reported, Los Angeles County election officials still need to verify the signatures, but campaign insiders expect the measure to clear the threshold, according to people familiar with the effort.
The proposal, led by the Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West, has been framed as a response to looming federal health care cuts tied to last year’s tax-and-spending law signed by President Donald Trump. The union estimates that roughly 200 Californians would be subject to the tax, which would apply to individuals residing in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026 with net worths above $1 billion by the end of this year.
If approved by voters this fall, the measure could generate roughly $100 billion in one-time revenue, according to the union. Supporters of the initiative include U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has said he’s “perfectly fine” with the proposed tax and has encouraged other billionaires to move to the Golden State, according to the Journal.
The plan has some high-profile opponents, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has warned that it could accelerate emigration among the state’s high earners, potentially jeopardizing tax revenue from those residents. Tech billionaires including Google co-founder Sergey Brin have poured tens of millions into competing ballot measures aimed at blocking elements of the tax, including proposals to ban retroactive taxation and ban new taxes on personal property such as retirement savings, stocks, bonds and intellectual property.
As of last month, roughly 52 percent of California voters appeared poised to vote for the billionaire tax, with 33 percent opposed and 15 percent undecided, according to a poll from the University of California, Berkeley Institute of Government Studies.
— Chris Malone Méndez
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