Billionaire tax measure qualifies for California ballot

State Watch Billionaire tax measure qualifies for California ballot Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 06/18/26 12:36 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ryan Mancini - 06/18/26 12:36 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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A one-time wealth tax on billionaires living in California has qualified to be on the ballot in November.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said Wednesday the measure, called the Billionaire Tax Act, received enough signatures and will be certified on June 25 to be included on the ballot for the midterm elections.

If approved, the measure, championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), would impose a 5 percent tax and allocate 90 percent of the collected tax revenue for healthcare programs and 10 percent for food assistance or education-related programs.

The measure exceeded the 962,106 valid signatures expected to back the initiative, surpassing the 874,641 signatures from registered voters required by state law.

But the ballot initiative has divided some California Democrats who argue it could push billionaires out of the state — particularly in Silicon Valley. Google co-founder Sergey Brin previously warned that the tax will undermine California businesses and force business leaders out of state.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also opposes the initiative, arguing that it should be used across the country instead of solely in the West Coast state. He told The New York Times earlier this year that there was “no question in my mind” that the measure would be defeated.

Newsom has been at the center of negotiations with other liberal groups that oppose the measure in finding a path to prevent the measure from reaching the ballot, the Times reported Wednesday.

“This is not going to be, ‘Billionaires killed this wealth tax’ if it appears on the November ballot,” Newsom’s chief of staff Nathan Barankin told the outlet. “It’s going to be Planned Parenthood, doctors, teachers and labor killed it.”

Sanders, a two-time presidential candidate and democratic socialist, has been a longtime advocate for increasing taxes on wealthy Americans. Sanders also won the California Democratic presidential primary in 2020.

The Vermont senator told supporters of the measure at a rally in Los Angeles in February that for the Golden State’s 200 billionaires, “enough is never enough.”

“They are dedicated to accumulating more and more wealth and power … no matter how many low-income and working-class people will die because they no longer have health insurance,” he said.

The measure also has the backing of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, one of California’s largest unions. The union has argued that federal cuts to healthcare will devastate hospital staffing, cutting staff down to “skeleton crews” and result in hospital and clinic closures.

“Most Californians and most billionaires recognize how reasonable and necessary this proposal is — both to keep emergency rooms open and to save California businesses from closing,” Suzanne Jimenez, the chief of staff of the union, told the Los Angeles Times in April.

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