California billionaire tax heads to Nov. 3 ballot

California billionaire – A $31 million signature drive has put a proposed 5% billionaire wealth tax on California’s Nov. 3 ballot, despite opposition from influential state leaders. The measure’s certification is expected after a Thursday evening deadline, even as unions and opponents

By Thursday evening, the fate of California’s proposed billionaire tax hung on a deadline and a bruising political fight—one that has turned hospitals, hospitals’ budgets, and the state’s volatile finances into a high-stakes campaign argument.

Proponents of a tax on California billionaires vowed to move forward with their November ballot measure despite mounting opposition from many of the state’s most powerful political forces. A labor union spent $31 million gathering signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot. aiming to offset federal healthcare funding cuts that proponents say will affect millions of California’s most vulnerable residents.

The California secretary of state is expected to officially certify the measure for the Nov. 3 ballot on Thursday evening.

Debru Carthan. a spokesperson for the Billionaire Tax Now Coalition—which is funded by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and sponsors the proposal—said supporters would press on even as opponents escalate their warning. “While a few morally bankrupt billionaires and their buddies in Sacramento want to see California’s hospitals close. and tax breaks for billionaires protected — I assure you. the vast majority of voters do not. ” Carthan said.

Carthan argued the coalition’s effort is backed by public opinion polls and by lawmakers. unions. community organizations. and volunteers statewide. She contrasted that with what she described as billionaires and their political allies refusing to engage in the debate: “something the billionaires and their buddies will never have.”.

Opponents. including a broad coalition spanning healthcare. education. public safety. housing. business. and labor. say the proposal would worsen the instability of California’s budget. In a statement, the California Medical Assn., the California Primary Care Assn., and the California School Boards Assn. warned that “The dangerous wealth tax directly threatens vital funding for education and schools. healthcare and clinics. public safety. and infrastructure projects by making California’s revenue even more volatile.” They said “so many leaders – both Democrats and Republicans – are joining us and saying NO. ” and added. “We look forward to ensuring voters have the facts. know the stakes. and resoundingly reject this reckless experiment in November.”.

Supporters say the measure is meant to fill an immediate gap. They describe the proposed one-time 5% tax on the assets of the state’s wealthiest residents as a stop-gap to offset federal healthcare funding cuts passed by the GOP-led Congress and signed by President Trump nearly one year ago. The federal legislation is expected to result in $100 billion in cuts that would affect California’s most vulnerable residents.

The tax would be retroactive to billionaires who lived in the state as of Jan. 1, a detail that helped trigger predictable opposition from wealthy Californians, including Silicon Valley tech leaders.

But the fight has also fractured Democrats. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) support the proposal, while Gov. Gavin Newsom is among Democrats who oppose it. Newsom and others who generally favor higher taxes on wealthy Americans argued the billionaire tax is poorly crafted and should be enacted nationally because California’s differing tax policies. they say. would be ineffective.

At the same time, opponents in the political fight say the timing matters for the 2026 midterm election. They argue the focus should be on efforts to make sure Democrats regain control of Congress as a counterbalance during the final two years of Trump’s presidency.

Jodi Hicks, chief executive and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, called the plan disappointing. “It’s disappointing. This is a critical election where we need to concentrate on flipping the house and undoing the damage that was done” by Trump’s legislation that led to the healthcare funding cuts. she said. Hicks added that the wealth tax is “short term and doesn’t address what is the long-term problem. ” and said she wasn’t sure “the policy is a viable solution.” She argued it was critical that voters hear the right message. including “holding Congress accountable and how we need to find long-term solutions to make sure Californians have access to healthcare.”.

Rob Lapsley. co-chair of Californians Against Tax Increases and president of the California Business Roundtable. argued the wealth tax would ultimately affect every Californian. In a statement. he said: “Strip away the spin. and this measure forces every California taxpayer. not just billionaires. to file a sworn declaration of their net worth with the Franchise Tax Board under penalty of perjury.” Lapsley also said the measure gives the Legislature power to extend the wealth tax to all Californians and every kind of property. including home equity and retirement savings. “without ever returning to the voters. ” and he described that outcome as “effectively gutting” voter-approved caps on property tax increases.

Supporters have already pushed the measure far enough to qualify it for the ballot. They submitted nearly 1.6 million signatures in April to qualify the proposal for November, roughly double the number required.

As opposition sharpened. Newsom’s team created a broad coalition of opponents. including healthcare and education activists. which supporters say undercut the foundational argument for the tax. Last week. the union that crafted the proposal responded by proposing a legislative alternative to create a 2% tax on billionaire’s assets. The Newsom administration refused the proposal.

By Thursday evening, no deal was reached to withdraw the billionaire tax measure from the ballot.

Two other efforts designed to sink the billionaire tax—described as “poison pills”—also qualified for the Nov. 3 ballot, according to the California Secretary of State’s office. One would bar new state taxes on personal property. The other prohibits new taxes from being exempted from existing state spending rules and to be regularly audited. If the billionaire tax proposal is approved by voters but either of the other proposals receives more votes. the tax measure would be voided.

Supporters say the bill is aimed at stabilizing care in a crisis of federal funding reductions. Critics argue it could destabilize California’s finances and drive away the very residents the state has relied on. The proposed billionaire tax would apply to more than 200 Californians. and some have reportedly proactively left the state or moved their companies out of California because of the proposal.

The prospect of wealthy residents fleeing is one reason Newsom and other Democrats opposed it. given how dependent California’s budget is on the state’s most prosperous residents. Sergey Brin. a co-founder of Google. is among the billionaires who have reportedly moved out of California because of the tax proposal. The article says Brin donated at least $82 million to an organization that is funding efforts to invalidate the proposed billionaire tax.

Ballot measure proponents had a Thursday evening deadline to withdraw their proposals.

Beyond the billionaire tax fight, other policy proposals will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. They include requiring government-issued voter identification to cast ballots in elections; reforming the California Environmental Quality Act. which has been a “third-rail” in Democratic politics and has come under increased scrutiny during the rebuilding in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton wildfire; and creating a $11.3-billion affordable housing bond.

Two notable proposals were pulled off the ballot after negotiations between the California Hospital Assn. and labor unions. Those included an effort to limit healthcare executives’ compensation. Also pulled was a union proposal that had backed the billionaire tax’s sponsoring union and would have required many healthcare clinics to spend 90% of their revenue to serve low-income and underserved residents.

With certification expected Thursday evening. California’s voters now face a question that has become more than a tax debate: whether the state should try to patch looming healthcare cuts with a retroactive wealth levy. or whether doing so will introduce new volatility into budgets that already carry the weight of essential services.

California ballot billionaire tax Nov. 3 Gavin Newsom SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West Bernie Sanders Ro Khanna federal healthcare cuts California budget