California Billionaires Spend Millions to Defeat Wealth Tax Prop 40

Tech billionaires in California are spending more than $1 million per day to defeat Proposition 40, a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on residents with a net worth exceeding $1 billion. The opposition is led by the Super PAC Building a Better California, which has raised over $340 million. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has contributed at least $102 million to the effort.

Proposed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the tax aims to fund healthcare, education, and food assistance to offset federal funding cuts. While U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has traveled to California to campaign for the measure, it faces opposition from Governor Gavin Newsom, gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, and various healthcare organizations. Opponents have also placed Propositions 41 and 42 on the November ballot as countermeasures to potentially nullify Prop 40.

Recent polling indicates the measure is favored to pass, although its lead has narrowed as opposition spending has increased. René Bravo, president of the California Medical Association, has appeared in opposition advertisements claiming the tax will not improve healthcare.