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3d ago

California Democrats Endorse One-Time Billionaire Tax

The party's backing gives supporters a political boost and raises the stakes for November by sharpening divisions inside the Democratic coalition.

A booth at the California Democratic Party convention at Moscone Center in San Francisco promotes a tax on billionaires in February.  
Rusty Hicks, California Democratic Party chair, said the party takes “a deliberative approach to our endorsement process that puts our values first.”
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Overview

  • The California Democratic Party voted to endorse Proposition 40 on Sunday, formally aligning the party with a ballot measure that will appear on the November 3 general election ballot.
  • Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents and trusts with more than $1 billion in net worth, targeting roughly 200 billionaires and projecting about $100 billion in receipts to shore up state health programs.
  • The endorsement highlights a split with high-profile Democrats including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Xavier Becerra, and it follows a campaign effort by SEIU‑United Healthcare Workers West that gathered enough signatures to qualify the measure.
  • Opponents led by tech donors and business groups have raised more than $100 million to fight the measure and cite risks such as enforcement challenges, asset-valuation disputes, and the possibility that wealthy residents could leave the state.
  • Key next developments to watch include legal and technical fights over how the tax is calculated and collected, polling and turnout among Democrats, and whether upfront receipts materialize or long-term revenues erode as warned by fiscal analysts.