USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Californians Weigh Proposition 40, A One-Time 5% Billionaire Wealth Tax
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One-time 5% wealth tax targets about 250 Californians with $2.3 trillion wealth. Projected to raise as much as $100 billion, largely for healthcare funding.
Prop 40 on ballots
Californians are weighing whether to approve Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of billionaires in California, as voters cast ballots on November 3. Supporters say the measure would apply to roughly 250 Californians and could raise up to $100 billion, with about 90% going toward healthcare and the remaining funds supporting education and food assistance programs.
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, said, "It’s past time that billionaires pay their fair share," as she argued the tax would backfill healthcare after federal cuts. Ro Khanna said Proposition 40 would be "the first time in the history of the nation, or the history of the world, that we would be able to tax billionaires," and he tied opposition from Governor Gavin Newsom to billionaires bankrolling his campaigns.
Unclear details, shifting support
The proposal behind California’s billionaire tax is simple, but it is not clear how much money the measure would raise, how quickly the funds would be available, or how lawmakers would spend them. The measure would earmark revenues from a wealth tax to a state health fund and would give the governor and lawmakers power to decide how to spend what California’s independent Legislative Analyst estimated would be "tens of billions of dollars."
Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center, said, "I’m not sure it can be asserted with total certainty that this will prevent clinics from closing," and he questioned whether it would stop layoffs or keep coverage intact. A Citrin-POLITICO poll found likely voters at 46% in favor of Proposition 40 and 43% opposed, with the survey showing the measure still short of majority support.
Money, Medicaid stakes
Proposition 40 would aim to offset roughly $30 billion per year that California is expected to lose as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Republicans in Congress. Over the next four years, state and federal funding cuts are projected to nearly double California’s uninsured population, which currently stands at about 2.4 million people.
Glenn Melnick, health economist at the University of Southern California, said, "Many times, these proposals are drafted in a way that grabs attention and builds support," and he warned that lawmakers could use the new health fund for other things. In a separate argument for Prop 40, Ro Khanna said the tax would help keep 3 million Californians from losing coverage and that Trump’s cuts could cost Medi-Cal more than $30bn a year.