California voters reject Prop 40 one-time tax on billionaire wealth
California voters rejected Proposition 40, a proposed one-time 5% tax on individuals in the state with a net worth of more than $1bn as of 1 January 2026. The measure, sponsored by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, would have directed proceeds to healthcare programs plus some education and food assistance. Supporters presented it as a response to healthcare cuts under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act; major unions and progressive figures including Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and California congressman Ro Khanna backed it.
Billionaires and Governor Gavin Newsom opposed the levy, as did both the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, which criticised the one-off structure and limited healthcare uses. Opponents branded it “an everyone tax.” Silicon Valley donors, including executives from Google, Palantir, DoorDash, Stripe and Reddit and several venture capitalists, funded the fight. Google co-founder Sergey Brin gave at least $132m. Opposition spending reached nearly $425m, the costliest such campaign in state history, and topped $2.5m a day in the first two weeks of October.
The opposition also placed Propositions 41 and 42 on the ballot: 41 targeted the billionaire tax directly, while 42 would have limited certain new taxes and banned taxation of billionaire wealth. Either could have blocked Prop 40 even if it passed; supporters called them “poison pills.” The defeat may slow nationwide efforts to tax the ultra-wealthy.
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