California voters reject billionaire wealth tax

Californians voted down a proposed wealth tax aimed at billionaires, a measure that experts believe would have been the world’s first tax of its kind. It was expected to raise about $100bn to compensate for federal healthcare funding cuts linked to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill.

Supporters said the levy would ensure the ultra‑wealthy paid their fair share and help close gaps in the state budget. Opposition came from Google co‑founder Sergey Brin, Governor Gavin Newsom and labour unions. Newsom, whose term is ending, warned the tax could prompt wealthy residents to leave California and erode crucial income‑tax revenue.

Several billionaire opponents spent millions to defeat the proposal; Brin gave more than $100m to a political organisation that funds ballot measures to block the tax, the Los Angeles Times reported. Dave Regan, head of the union that championed the measure, said on election night that the billionaires’ efforts created "a lot of confusion and a lot of second-guessing among people who really in their hearts know what the right the thing to do is". Regan, president of Service Employees International Union‑United Healthcare Workers West, pledged to pursue a billionaire tax again in 2028.

The initiative faced steep odds, with two other propositions on the ballot that would have effectively reversed it even if it had passed. California, home to roughly 23 million registered voters, has the nation’s largest economy and the world’s fourth‑largest, and it hosts one of the highest concentrations of billionaires alongside a pronounced wealth gap.