The initiative aims to impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on the Golden State\u2019s billionaires to generate $100 billion in revenue. The tax would apply to assets like art, stocks and bonds. That money would be used to help backfill reductions in federal funding to K-12 schools, health services provided by Medi-Cal and aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as CalFresh in California, according to previous reporting by The Center Square<\/a>.<\/p>\n Representatives from the advocacy group Billionaire Tax Now and the union backing the tax, Service Employees International Union \u2013 United Healthcare Workers West, did not respond to The Center Square before publication time.<\/p>\n However, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle spoke to The Center Square on Thursday about the tax measure advancing to the midterm election ballot in November.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want a budget deficit in perpetuity, pass this,\u201d Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, told The Center Square. \u201cWhat happens is, these folks are now going to Florida and everywhere else, and not only are they leaving, but they are the ones investing in a lot of these jobs. Those jobs now are fleeing California, and we\u2019re going to lose them, dramatically, going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n California Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, talks about his legislation with The Center Square. Photo: Madeline Shannon \/ The Center Square<\/p>\n The Golden State\u2019s billionaires will take their billions and create jobs in other parts of the country \u2013 not in California, Strickland added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe minute this passed, we would be in a budget deficit in perpetuity,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cIf you care about funding education, if you care about funding health care, if you care about funding transportation infrastructure, you\u2019ll vote no on this initiative, because we won\u2019t be able to fund essential services in California.\u201d<\/p>\n California\u2019s ongoing budget deficit, which the Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office recently projected<\/a>\u00a0would amount to $16.9 billion, is largely due to expenditures exceeding revenues under Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s most recent budget proposal. That was in spite of the fact that Newsom attempted to solve the state\u2019s budget deficit through 2028, according to previous reporting by The Center Square<\/a>.<\/p>\n While some, like Strickland, see the potential passage of the billionaire tax making the state\u2019s budget woes worse, there is still support for the measure.<\/p>\n \u201cI agree with the proposal overall,\u201d Sen. Sasha Ren\u00e9e P\u00e9rez, D-Pasadena, told The Center Square. \u201cI agree overall with the idea that billionaires and corporations need to pay their fair share. We\u2019ve seen inequality grow in an alarming way, and frankly, I think most Californians are sick of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Sasha Ren\u00e9e P\u00e9rez, D-Pasadena and chair of the California Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education, presides over the panel’s hearing at the Capitol, March 5, 2026. Photo: Madeline Shannon \/ The Center Square<\/p>\n No one was available from Billionaire Tax Now or Service Employees International Union \u2013 United Healthcare Workers West to answer questions about the ballot measure\u2019s progress. When asked if anyone was available to answer questions, a representative from Billionaire Tax Now sent a press release via email.<\/p>\n According to previous reporting by The Center Square, even the potential passage of the tax has sent some billionaires packing who previously called California home. Earlier this year,\u00a0Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg<\/a> bought a mansion in Florida. Other billionaires also relocated to other states, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Palantir Technologies and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and venture capitalist David Sacks.<\/p>\n A February 2026 report<\/a> from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation found that the mere proposal of the wealth tax could be costing the state $1 trillion in revenue<\/a> with the departure of multiple billionaires already. One economist<\/a> predicted that passage of the tax could eventually cost the state $25 billion in revenue, The Center Square previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, a healthcare worker who advocate for the measure previously told The Center Square that if billionaires leave the state, they are only showing their own greed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to put humanity first over greed,\u201d Debru Carthan, a radiologic technologist for Kaiser, told The Center Square in March. \u201cThis is about being our brothers\u2019 keeper. Those who leave California \u2013 they are showing their greed. They\u2019re showing their selfishness. And the very patients who will die are the ones who helped them make the billions that they have now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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