California voters will consider a controversial proposal in November to temporarily raise taxes on billionaires after the labor union backing the measure announced Thursday it would forge ahead despite pressure from critics to withdraw it.
The proposal, backed by the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West, would impose a one-time 5% tax on individuals whose net worth exceeds $1 billion and who were living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026. The goal is to generate $100 billion in revenue, mainly to fund the state’s Medicaid system after federal cuts.
“I am all in on this,” union President Dave Regan said on a Zoom call, adding that opponents of the proposal are “totally out of touch.”
I can tell you having voted for multiple taxes that would have only hit the rich in California that this tax will be incessantly attacked by rich people with arguments that it’ll somehow raise a normal person’s taxes. And enough idiots might believe it that this measure will fail.
Yup, I already have received multiple fliers that try to paint it as a generic wealth tax and do not mention that it only applies to billionaires or that it’s a one time tax. People will be deceived. Hopefully the language on the ballot is straightforward enough.