California's Prop 40 'billionaires' tax' measure is rejected, AP projects
The main group opposing the tax raised $333.1 million ahead of the midterms.
asserted
group → reject → midterms
Voters rejected California's so-called "billionaires' tax" ballot initiative, according to a projection from The Associated Press on Monday.
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Voters → reject → Monday
This means that the state will not levy a 5% tax on the wealth of California taxpayers and trusts with assets valued over $1 billion.
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state → mean → billion
This measure is known as Proposition 40.
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measure → know → Proposition
The tax was introduced in response to steep cuts to California's healthcare funding that resulted from the passage of President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."
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that → introduce → Bill
Yes on 40, the main group backing the measure, had said the tax would generate around $100 billion over five years.
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tax → back → years
The measure would have affected roughly 200 of California's billionaires.
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measure → affect → billionaires
Building a Better California, the main group opposing the tax, raised $333.1 million since the beginning of the year.
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Building → oppose → year
Most of that money came from billionaires.
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Most → come → billionaires
He gave $102 million to Building a Better California.
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He → give → California
Because of Brin, "co-founder" is the occupation that gave the most to the group overall, a total of $105.3 million.
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that → give → million
Donors who listed their occupation as "Investor/Philanthropist" gave the group $47.7 million.
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who → list → million
CEOs gave $46.6 million.
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CEOs → give → million
People who listed their occupation as "chairman" contributed $43 million.
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who → list → million
Naturally, many of the major donors reported being based in California.
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many → report → California
$43.9 million came from donors in San Rafael, California, a city in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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million → come → Area
$40.2 million came from West Hollywood.
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million → come → Hollywood
$34.7 million came from Redwood City, another Bay Area city, and $28.4 million came from San Francisco itself.
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million → come → Francisco
The largest share of contributions, however, came from Sergey Brin, in Reno, Nevada.
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share → come → Reno
Gov. Gavin Newsom became its most prominent opponent, arguing that the tax could be dodged by billionaires who could leave the state for another.
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who → become → another
As ABC News has reported, Newsom has shared a counterproposal: a national billionaire tax focused on loans taken against assets.
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Newsom → report → assets
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna were huge proponents of the measure, arguing that it could set the stage and be an example for a national wealth tax.
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it → argue → tax
Khanna told ABC News in early October that he and Newsom are "polar opposites" on the issue.
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he → tell → issue
Both have openly discussed that they are weighing a presidential bid in 2028.
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they → discuss → 2028
"He [Newsom] doesn't want to offend some of the billionaires who he wants to finance his campaigns, and that's the question: Are we going to be a party for the working class?
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we → want → class
Are we going to be beholden to our donors?" Khanna said.
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Khanna → go → donors
Tech investors pushed back hard on the measure.
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investors → push → measure
Vinod Khosla warned that the state's top wealth creators would leave, and Mark Cuban told Khanna he doesn't understand business.
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he → warn → business
The Aporia
