California Voters to Decide Prop 40, a Proposed 5% Tax on Billionaires' Wealth
Photo: The Guardian USCalifornia voters will decide Proposition 40 in the November 3 election, a ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of the state's billionaires. The tax would apply to roughly 250 Californians who together hold an estimated $2.3 trillion, according to one account; another puts the number near 200. Supporters say the tax could raise up to $100 billion, with about 90% going toward healthcare.
Right-leaning coverage in The Daily Signal casts the measure as a way to make the wealthy bail out state deficits and prolong easy spending. Left-leaning coverage, an opinion piece by Ro Khanna, treats it as a defining choice for the Democratic Party between working-class and tech-oligarch interests. Alternative coverage from Democracy Now! focuses on the mechanics: who would pay, how much wealth is involved, and where the money would go. All three agree on the 5% rate and the November vote. They differ on the number of taxpayers and on whether the measure is mainly a budget fix or a party-defining fight.
How the sides differ Right sources frame Prop 40 as rich Californians covering state deficits; left sources as a Democratic Party test; alternative sources detail the tax's mechanics and projected revenue.
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The Guardian US runs an opinion piece by Ro Khanna calling Prop 40 the most important ballot initiative in America and a choice between New Deal and corporate Democrats.
Democracy Now! explains the measure's details: a one-time 5% tax on about 250 billionaires holding $2.3 trillion, with supporters projecting up to $100 billion, roughly 90% for healthcare.
The Daily Signal presents Prop 40 as making roughly 200 wealthy Californians bail out state deficits and fund another year of easy spending, and places California among other blue states.