California’s Billionaire Tax Faces Resistance as Counties Vote on Prop 40
WHO:
CalMatters - California Professional Firefighters and the Peace Officers Research Association of California supported Proposition 42; it was bankrolled primarily by billionaires.
CalMatters - Rep. Ro Khanna said supporters had started a movement to put taxing billionaires on the national agenda: “We’re going to call out these economic royalists. We’re going to tax them the way they need to be taxed, and we’re going to invest in Medicare for all and free childcare.”
CalMatters - California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez said Proposition 42’s restrictions could be changed: “That’s not set in stone.”
CalMatters - Senate Budget Committee Chair John Laird said he had not imagined Proposition 42 would pass on its own and that lawmakers would examine possible budget effects.
CalMatters - Kayla Kitson, senior policy analyst at the California Budget and Policy Center, warned that Proposition 42’s restrictions on retroactive taxes could cost the state months of revenue in a future scenario.
Los Angeles Times - Suzanne Jimenez, SEIU-UHW’s chief of staff, said healthcare workers could return to the ballot with a billionaire tax.
SFGATE - Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna supported Proposition 40.
Los Angeles Times - Supporters of Proposition 40 included Sen. Bernie Sanders, the California Democratic Party, healthcare workers, actor Mark Ruffalo and other Hollywood celebrities. The Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) proposed the tax and was a major supporter.
Los Angeles Times - Opponents included California Gov. Gavin Newsom, teachers unions, Planned Parenthood, business groups and others. Xavier Becerra, identified as California’s next governor, also opposed the tax.
SFGATE - Supporters included Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna. Newsom opposed Proposition 40 and endorsed Proposition 42.
Los Angeles Times - UC Berkeley law professor Brian Galle helped write the wealth-tax proposal. Dan Schnur is a politics and communications professor at USC, UC Berkeley and Pepperdine.
SFGATE - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he was comfortable paying whatever taxes came with living in Silicon Valley.
WHAT:
CalMatters - Proposition 42 would prohibit new taxes on personal property, including business holdings, intellectual property and financial assets, whether imposed by state law or constitutional amendment. Voters could later repeal the ban through another ballot measure.
CalMatters - Proposition 42 was leading with 54% support, with nearly 60% of anticipated votes counted; billionaires had contributed $159 million to support it.
CalMatters - The Legislative Analyst’s Office said Proposition 42 could make future state tax increases harder and potentially reduce state revenue, though the amount was uncertain.
CalMatters - Proposition 40 did not target ordinary retirement savings, except Roth IRA accounts holding more than $10 million, according to its tax proponents.
CalMatters - California had recorded four consecutive years of budget deficits despite revenue growth, alongside healthcare cuts, suspended school payments and tax increases.
KOMO - Washington Initiative 645, which would have repealed the 9.9% income tax on people earning over $1 million a year beginning in 2028, appeared to have failed; its constitutionality is headed to court.
KOMO - Washington State Sen. Jamie Pedersen said lawmakers could begin discussing replacing the business and occupation tax with a corporate net-income tax.
SFGATE - The apparent rejection of Proposition 40 came amid a national Democratic wave that flipped both chambers of Congress.
Los Angeles Times - A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times found Proposition 40 support fell from 48% in August to 42% among voters surveyed the following month.
Los Angeles Times - Proposition 42 would prohibit new taxes on retirement holdings, individually owned assets and other personal savings, and bar retroactive taxes.
Los Angeles Times - Meta’s board struck a deal addressing Mark Zuckerberg’s concern that selling stock to pay the tax could reduce his control of the company.
SFGATE - Sergey Brin donated $102 million to Building a Better California.
Los Angeles Times - Proposition 40 appeared headed toward defeat. Nearly 56% opposed it and 44% supported it; about 6 million votes were still needed to be counted, so the result was too close to call.
SFGATE - Preliminary returns showed 55.6% opposed and 44.4% supported Proposition 40, with nearly 7.7 million votes tallied.
SFGATE - Proposition 40 would have imposed a one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires who were California residents as of Jan. 1, 2026, taxing accumulated assets including stocks and business holdings. Ninety percent of proceeds would fund healthcare; the rest would fund education, food assistance and administration. State analysts projected tens of billions of dollars in temporary revenue.
Los Angeles Times - Supporters said taxing about 200 billionaires could raise $100 billion to offset federal healthcare cuts. They warned that without more funding, people could lose healthcare coverage, children could die and hospitals could close.
Los Angeles Times - About $489 million was raised in connection with Proposition 40 and Propositions 41 and 42. More than $380 million went toward defeating the billionaire tax; supporters contributed about $100 million.
SFGATE - Billionaire opponents and business interests spent $316.7 million opposing Proposition 40 and supporting its two countermeasures. Sergey Brin donated $102 million to opposition committee Building a Better California.
Los Angeles Times - The four richest Californians—Brin, Huang, Google co-founder Larry Page and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—would owe an estimated 40% of the tax revenue.
Los Angeles Times - Proposition 42 was tracking toward passage; Proposition 41 was headed for defeat. SFGATE reported 54.3% supported Proposition 42.
WHERE:
Los Angeles Times - California’s economy was valued at $4.25 trillion; the article said thousands of businesses had moved to Texas and other states in recent years.
Los Angeles Times - The proposed tax applied to California billionaires; the election and county returns concerned California and its 58 counties.
WHY:
CalMatters - Kayla Kitson said prohibiting retroactive taxes could hinder efforts to prevent tax evasion and raise revenue quickly during budget emergencies.
SFGATE - California’s election returns showed that opposition to President Trump did not translate into agreement on taxing billionaires.
Los Angeles Times - Dan Schnur said Proposition 40’s sponsors may have been too ambitious. Brian Galle said taxing assets rather than income was complicated and could concern voters about the state taxing the value of their property.
Los Angeles Times - Opponents said the tax could drive billionaires and businesses out of California, costing jobs and revenue. Supporters said it would help replace federal healthcare funding cuts.
SFGATE - The proposal split Democrats; Newsom warned that wealthy taxpayers leaving could damage California’s finances.
HOW:
CalMatters - Proposition 42 permits taxes on business sales, corporate income, healthcare providers and insurance, according to campaign spokesperson Nathan Click.
SFGATE - Proposition 41 or 42 could have blocked Proposition 40 from taking effect even if it passed, if the countermeasure received more “yes” votes than Proposition 40.
Los Angeles Times - Opponents used television, radio, social-media and smartphone advertising, describing the proposal as a reckless experiment and a tax that could affect more than billionaires.
SFGATE - Propositions 41 and 42 offered routes to block Proposition 40. Proposition 41 would require audits of new special taxes and restrict exemptions from state spending limits. Proposition 42 would prohibit new taxes on financial assets and other personal property and limit retroactive taxation.
(UPDATED November 5, 2026 22:11 UTC)
California voters appeared poised to reject Proposition 40’s billionaire wealth tax. Proposition 42, backed by billionaire-funded opponents, was leading and would restrict future taxes on personal assets. Supporters vowed to keep pursuing billionaire taxation.
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(UPDATED November 5, 2026 20:07 UTC)
California voters rejected Proposition 40, a proposed one-time wealth tax on billionaires. Opposition led in preliminary returns, despite support from Bernie Sanders and healthcare workers. Proposition 42, which blocks taxes on personal assets, appeared headed for passage.
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(UPDATED November 5, 2026 19:11 UTC)
California voters opposed Proposition 40, a proposed one-time tax on billionaires’ accumulated wealth. Supporters said the tax could help replace federal healthcare funding cuts. Opponents warned wealthy residents might leave, while Proposition 42’s asset-tax ban was advancing.
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(UPDATED November 5, 2026 16:03 UTC)
California voters appeared poised to reject Proposition 40, a proposed one-time tax on billionaires. Preliminary returns showed 56 percent opposed, amid heavy spending against the measure. Supporters said the tax could fund healthcare, while opponents warned wealthy residents might leave.