California billionaire wealth tax sparks fierce debate and record opposition spending
Economists in California debated whether Proposition 40's one-time 5% tax on billionaire net worth would generate up to $100 billion or cost the state billions, as the measure faced opposition funded by the state's ultra-rich, NPR reported. Earlier, Fortune reported that Google co-founder Sergey Brin contributed $102 million to Building a Better California, a group spending over $300 million to defeat the tax. POLITICO. eu noted that more than 70 California billionaires had already donated a combined $612 million to anti-tax groups.
The New York Post quoted donor Don Hankey, who said he left California before the residency deadline and called the proposal economically unsound. Another Fortune analysis suggested that matching Texas’s residential property-tax rate could double California’s property-tax revenue, offering a larger fiscal boost than the billionaire levy. The Los Angeles Times warned that the tax could affect owners of major sports franchises, sparking concerns about ticket prices. The Guardian explained that the measure, intended to fund health-care and other services, faces organized opposition as the midterm election approaches.
