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<\/p>\nMore than $351 million in political donations has been poured into a high-stakes contest about a proposed wealth tax on the November ballot, making it one of the most costly campaigns in California history. <\/p>\n
About 90% of the money is being spent to defeat a statewide initiative to impose a new tax on the assets of billionaires, a multifaceted opposition effort bankrolled primarily by ultra-rich Californians being targeted by a measure that supporters call an economic reckoning. <\/p>\n
The billionaire tax, Proposition 40, would levy a one-time, 5% tax on many assets of California billionaires who lived in the state as of Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
Millions of dollars continue to flow into the campaigns of three intertwined ballot initiatives at the center of the debate: Proposition 40, and Propositions 41 and Proposition 42, which would neuter the Proposition 40 through strategic, esoteric tax law changes. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe pro-40 campaign picked a fight and then came to that fight with a butter knife against a nuclear arsenal,\u201d said GOP strategist Rob Stutzman, who is not involved in any of the wealth-tax-related ballot measures. \u201cBecause they\u2019re so well funded, in today\u2019s multifaceted media world, they are able to show up everywhere from network TV to inside video games. That is a very, very large advantage few campaigns ever get to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, Stutzman warned, money does not guarantee a win. <\/p>\n
In the most expensive ballot measure fights in California history, $463 million was spent on two gambling proposals 2022. The initiatives pitted some of California\u2019s most successful Native American tribes with gaming interests against gambling corporations, including online sports gaming companies DraftKings and FanDuel. Both side\u2019s measure failed. <\/p>\n
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People attend a rally against Proposition 40 at the Iron Workers Apprenticeship Training Center on Oct. 5 in La Palma. <\/p>\n
(Eric Thayer\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The tax measure was crafted by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West in response to federal healthcare funding cuts signed by President Trump last year that are expected to reduce California\u2019s healthcare budget by $100 billion, burdening the state\u2019s most vulnerable residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s \u2018Big Beautiful Bill\u2019 slashes healthcare funding, with major coverage cuts scheduled to hit after the midterms,\u201d said Suzanne Jimenez, the union\u2019s chief of staff. \u201cMore than 3 million Californians could lose their health insurance. Hospitals and emergency rooms face closure. Patients will die unnecessarily when the care they need is no longer there. Proposition 40 is an emergency response to that looming disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposition\u2019s supporters raised $34.3 million, nearly all of it from Jimenez\u2019s union.<\/p>\n
The two other measures, Propositions 41 and 42, would nullify the billionaire tax if either receives more votes.<\/p>\n
Proposition 41 supporters say the measure aims to cut wasteful government spending by requiring audits for new state special taxes and would bar new state taxes that exempt their revenue from a state spending limit. Backers of Proposition 42 argue it would prohibit new taxes on retirement holdings, individually owned assets and other forms of personal savings. <\/p>\n
Advocates for the billionaire tax say both are well-financed smokescreens to undercut Proposition 40.<\/p>\n
Opposition campaigns to the wealth tax as well as the two countermeasures have received enormous donations from several of the state\u2019s billionaires. But Building a Better California, the main funder of efforts to defeat the wealth tax, noted that its allies included Democratic and Republican politicians, prominent labor groups and business leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s rare for such a broad coalition to unite around any single cause in California, but it reflects the potentially devastating impact of this measure on healthcare, education, and our state\u2019s economy,\u201d the group said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Among the largest donors opposing the wealth tax are billionaires Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google who has donated more than $100 million to anti-wealth-tax efforts, and former Google leader Eric Schmidt and venture capitalist L. John Doerr, who each kicked in $40 million. <\/p>\n
Brin, Schmidt and Doerr did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
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US tech entrepreneur Sergey Brin and Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto arrive for the 2026 Met Gala celebrating \u201cCostume Art\u201d at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in May.<\/p>\n
(ANGELA WEISS\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The spending disparity also reflects a divide among Democrats and their allies, many of whom support wealth taxes, but argue that the way Proposition 40 was written is disastrous to California\u2019s volatile budget, which is dependent on the state\u2019s wealthiest residents.<\/p>\n
Jodi Hicks, chief executive and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said that while her organization would support a nationwide or a California wealth tax, their primary concerns are about 40\u2019s impacts on the state budget and healthcare in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are opposed to this particular proposal because we think it does more harm than good,\u201d she said, adding that after what her organization \u201cfaced last year having to scramble for dollars because of [federal funding cuts] we are committed to work with the stakeholders facing cuts and not harming the budget and finding revenue in a smart way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cash imbalance between supporters and opponents of the billionaire tax is vast. Those opposed to the measure raised $316.7 million, while proponents raised nearly $34.3 million. <\/p>\n
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The Fair Games Coalition, made up of community leaders, labor organizations and advocates, announce the launch of the Overpaid CEO Tax Initiative in front of the Tesla Diner in West Hollywood in January. <\/p>\n
(Genaro Molina\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The supporters of the wealth tax spent nearly all of their money gathering signatures to place the measure on the ballot. They had $1.6 million on hand as of Oct. 17.<\/p>\n
Now, as voters cast ballots, their campaign appears reliant on public events and media coverage, such as of Sen. Bernie Sanders\u2019 (I-Vt.) recent rally<\/a> in support of Proposition 40 in downtown Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you are showing people from coast to coast and all over is that, yes, we can take on the greed of the oligarchs,\u201d he said, calling it the most important ballot measure in the country. \u201cYes, we can create an economy and a government that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n
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