California Voters to Decide on Billionaire Wealth Tax

California voters will decide in November whether to pass Proposition 40, a measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on the total assets of the state's approximately 250 billionaires. The proposal aims to raise funds to offset nearly $100 billion in projected cuts to public education, food assistance, and healthcare caused by federal legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and the architect of the measure, argues the tax is a necessary five-year solution to backfill critical funding gaps. He notes that the tax targets a tiny fraction of the population holding trillions in wealth.

Opponents, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, argue the tax is socialist and will drive wealthy residents out of the state. Brin has contributed $102 million to the group Building a Better California to defeat the measure. Governor Gavin Newsom and other critics warn that a mass exodus of the ultrarich could create a significant budget deficit, as a small number of high-earners provide a disproportionate share of the state's personal income tax revenue.