California voters to decide on billionaire wealth tax

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 19 Oct, 02:26 · Archive

California voters will decide whether to adopt Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' wealth.

California voters will decide whether to adopt Proposition 40, a one-time 5% state tax on the net worth of the state's roughly 200 billionaires. The measure would apply to California residents with assets valued over $1 billion.

Healthcare workers union leader Dave Regan led the petition drive to put the measure on the November ballot. Regan said the state faced an emergency due to President Trump's proposed cuts to federal Medicaid funding, which he claimed would result in three-and-a-half million people losing health insurance and hospital closures. He expects the tax would raise $100 billion over five years, with 90% earmarked specifically for healthcare. "We're not trying to pretend that it's a permanent solution," Regan said, "but a five-year solution is better than no solution."

The New York Post reports that Proposition 40 was drafted by French-born Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez, and that the proposal draws on research by fellow French economists Gabriel Zucman and Thomas Piketty. However, some progressives oppose the measure, and some billionaires have already left California, including venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

How it is being reported

• California’s billionaire tax has a French connection –– and riots across the Atlantic offer a grim warningIf Californians want to see the results of socialist policies like the “billionaire tax,” they need only look at the rioting in France — where the inspiration for the tax comes from. The “billionaire tax,” known as Proposition 40, is a one-time 5% wealth tax that will hit California residents with assets valued at over...New York Post · 19 Oct, 02:09
• California's proposed billionaire tax: How does it add up?California voters will decide whether to adopt Proposition 40, which would impose a new tax on billionaires' wealth. "Sunday Morning" examines whether the measure would deliver the benefits its backers promise — and why some progressives oppose it.CBS News · 18 Oct, 14:27
• California's Proposition 40: A tax on billionairesCalifornia voters will decide whether to adopt Proposition 40, which would impose a new tax on billionaires' wealth. Correspondent Jo Ling Kent examines whether the measure would deliver the benefits its backers promise — and why some progressives oppose it.CBS News · 18 Oct, 14:15

In this story: California · Dave Regan · SEIU United Healthcare Workers West · Peter Thiel · Larry Page · Sergey Brin · Emmanuel Saez · Gabriel Zucman

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem