California Voters Reject Proposed Wealth Tax on Billionaires

(MENAFN) California voters have rejected a ballot initiative that would have introduced a tax on the wealth of billionaire residents, marking a first-of-its-kind proposal in the United States, according to projections by Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).

Around 54% of voters opposed Proposition 40, while 46% supported it, with 76% of ballots counted as of 8.51 pm EST (0151GMT Saturday).

The proposal sought to introduce a one-time 5% levy on billionaires' wealth, with the majority of the proceeds allocated to state healthcare programs and the remaining funds directed toward food assistance and education.

The measure received backing from the California Democratic Party, the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Teamsters unions. However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed the initiative.

Although Newsom, who is barred from seeking another term due to term limits, has expressed support for imposing a federal tax on billionaires, he criticized the California proposal for allocating "almost all of the revenue" to healthcare.

"There is nothing for housing, nothing for childcare, nothing for public safety workers who must answer 911 calls, and nothing for our public universities that have powered California’s economy for a decade," he wrote in a Substack post in June.

Meanwhile, wealthy individuals, including several Silicon Valley executives, contributed more than $333 million to the nonprofit organization Building a Better California to campaign against the proposed tax.

According to estimates from the state's Legislative Analyst's Office, imposing the levy on approximately 200 billionaires could have generated tens of billions of dollars in revenue.

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