Proposition 42
Coverage of Proposition 42 in the Nexus archive.
- California’s billionaires just poured $40 million into blocking a wealth tax that threatens to force them to pay 5% of their net worth
California's billionaires are spending millions of dollars, including contributions from John Doerr ($7.5 million) and Chris Larsen ($10 million), to oppose Proposition 40, a measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents with over $1 billion in assets. The opposition group, Building a Better California, has raised an endowment of $110 million. However, recent polls indicate that likely voters are split on whether or not to approve the billionaire tax.
- California voters will decide 14 ballot measures, billionaire tax included. There could’ve been more
California voters will decide on 14 ballot measures in November, including a 5% wealth tax on billionaires (Proposition 40) and countermeasures (Props 41 and 42) backed by billionaire Sergey Brin. Legislative changes in 2016 allowed sponsors to remove measures before deadlines, leading to compromises that reduced the total from 20 to 14, though conflicts like the wealth tax remain unresolved.