Billionaire Tax Ballot Fight

California voters will decide on a contentious billionaire tax ballot measure in November.

California’s November 2026 ballot includes Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on people worth more than $1 billion who were California residents on Jan. 1, 2026, with most proceeds intended for health care and some for education. Support is uncertain: a September UC Berkeley–POLITICO poll found 45% of registered voters in favor and 43% opposed, while other polling found slim majorities backing Prop. 40 and Propositions 41 and 42, which are designed to block it; Prop. 40 takes effect only if it receives more votes than both countermeasures. Supporters say the tax would help fund public needs and offset federal health care cuts, while critics warn it could drive entrepreneurs and jobs out of California and erode the tax base. Opponents have spent more than $195 million against Prop. 40, compared with about $36 million spent by supporters, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin has contributed more than $100 million to the opposition. State fiscal analysis anticipates a possible ongoing decline of less than $1 billion a year in income-tax revenue from billionaires, while a separate estimate says Proposition 3 would make a temporary high-earner income-tax increase permanent, preserving $5 billion to $15 billion in annual state revenue.

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