California voters reject billionaire tax
California voters, in a ballot held alongside the midterm elections, appear to have rejected a proposed one-time tax on the state's billionaires, according to Associated Press projections. The "no" side led with 55.6 percent.
Voters in the US state of California on Tuesday appear to have turned down a proposed one-time tax on billionaires, in a ballot held alongside the midterm elections. The Associated Press news agency projected the result. With about 60 percent of votes counted, 55.6 percent had voted "no" and 44.4 percent "yes".
The measure, known as Proposition 40, would have imposed a one-time 5 percent tax on Californians with a net worth above $1bn. It was expected to raise $100bn, most of it earmarked for healthcare programmes, with some also going to education and food assistance.
Supporters and opponents
The idea was backed by US Senator Bernie Sanders and other progressive politicians, who presented it as a remedy for economic inequality and a model for the rest of the country. Democrats said the tax was needed to offset federal funding cuts in President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill.
Outgoing California Governor Gavin Newsom, a likely candidate for the 2028 Democratic Party presidential nomination, opposed it. He and other opponents argued that the tax would push ultrawealthy people and high-tech entrepreneurs out of California, taking their income-tax payments and job-creating businesses with them. Newsom's stance, together with divisions among party leaders and labour unions, eroded early support for the measure.
California billionaires, including Google cofounder Sergey Brin, spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars campaigning against it. They argued it was a gateway to more aggressive taxation of all Californians and could reach retirement accounts.
Impact on the Democrats
The failure is a blow to the Democratic Party's left wing, which had gained momentum after the midterms, in which Democrats won majorities in both chambers of the US Congress. Incoming Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden indicated, however, that taxing the ultrawealthy remains a central goal for the party. In a November 4 statement outlining the committee's priorities, he said it would redouble its efforts to ensure billionaires pay their fair share and to hold tax cheats accountable.
