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California Voters Reject Billionaire Tax Proposal

Updated 1:43 AM ET · 11:10 PM ETConfirmedShare via:          

Politics Desk

In Short: California voters have rejected a proposal to impose a one-time 5% tax on the state's billionaires, a move that was projected to raise about $100 billion for healthcare and education.

California voters reject Proposition 40, the one-time ‘billionaire tax’. KCRA 3

California voters have rejected Proposition 40, a ballot measure that would have imposed a one-time 5% tax on the state's billionaires. The Associated Press declared the measure defeated on Monday evening, with 52.8% of voters opposing the tax and 47.2% supporting it, based on 83% of the vote counted.

The proposal, known as the California Billionaire Tax Act, aimed to raise approximately $100 billion over five years to fund healthcare programs, education, and food assistance. Proponents argued that the tax was necessary to address federal funding cuts to healthcare in California.

Opponents, including California billionaires like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, raised more than $379 million to defeat the measure, outspending supporters by more than 250-1, according to The Washington Post. Brin alone contributed at least $132 million to fight the tax.

The tax would have been levied against the 214 billionaires living in California as of January 1, 2026, according to Forbes data compiled by Americans for Tax Fairness. Critics argued that the tax would drive wealthy individuals out of the state, potentially harming California's long-term tax base.

Supporters of the measure, including economists, noted that between 2019 and 2025, California income tax paid by billionaires was only 1.6% of their $1.4 trillion wealth gain, much less than what ordinary Californians pay on their paychecks. Proponents also highlighted that billionaires can accumulate substantial wealth from the stock market and business valuations without paying income tax on those gains until they are realized.

The billionaire tax proposal was part of a broader set of ballot measures across the United States. While voters in Virginia and Missouri overwhelmingly passed ballot measures protecting abortion rights, Florida voters approved a significant property tax cut.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• California voters rejected a proposed tax on billionaires, the Associated Press announced Monday.

What's still developing

• The outlet called the results just before 9:30 p.m.
• All told, the billionaires mounted a nearly $425m battle against Prop 40, making it the most expensive opposition campaign in state history.
• A mixed bag: Missouri voters rejected a bid to reinstate an abortion ban, Ohio and North Carolina locked voter ID into their constitutions, and voting on California's billionaire tax remains uncalled.
• Their face-off, just days before voters begin receiving their ballots by mail, comes as polling indicates Beccera holds a massive lead, signaling a steep obstacle course for Hilton’s ambitions to become California’s first Republican governor since 2011.
• But the 42-year-old tech mogul considered leaving the state because he feared that a ballot measure to impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of California billionaires could reduce the amount of control he has over Meta, a recent regulatory filing shows.
• Start with a basic question: How much do billionaires pay in taxes?
• A new analysis claims California’s billionaire tax will actually cost the state billions in the long run.
• California's 200-plus billionaires are officially in the clear.
• Supporters of the billionaire tax called Props 41 and 42 “poison pills”.
• The "no" side raised roughly 10 times as much as the "yes" side.
• "on this issue, we fundamentally disagree."

Sources

• BBClink
• CBClink
• CBS Newslink
• CalMatterslink
• Fox Businesslink
• Justthenewslink
• Los Angeles Timeslink
• NBC Los Angeleslink
• NBC Newslink
• NPRlink
• Statelinelink
• The Guardianlink
• The Mercury Newslink
• The San Francisco Standardlink
• Dailybruinlink
• Justthenewslink
• KCRA 3 — video link
• Fox News — video link
• The National Desk — video link
• ABC10 — video link