California political committee funded by tech billionaires that opposes the state's billionaire wealth tax and backs pro-business ballot measures.
Gov. Gavin Newsom endorsed Prop. 42, which voids the Prop. 40 billionaire tax if both pass and Prop. 42 gets more yes votes. SFGATE reports polls consistently lean toward Prop. 42, so a Prop. 40 majority would not settle the question.
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Opponents of California's one-time 5% billionaire tax have raised more than $300 million, about ten times what its backers have. For the few hundred people in scope, residency was fixed on Jan. 1, 2026, so payment and a rival nullifying measure are what remain open.
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Property magnate David Reuben has moved to Monaco about 18 months after the UK put long-term residents' global assets under its 40% inheritance tax. In California, where Prop 40's residency date has passed, opponents of the 5% levy are outspending supporters almost six to one.
Perspective Coverage
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Sergey Brin has given $102 million to defeat California's Prop 40, a one-time 5% billionaire tax that could cost him about $13 billion. The state's $100 billion estimate depends as much on how many of its 200 billionaires stay resident as on the November vote.
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PPIC's September survey puts Prop 40 at 52%, Prop 41 at 51% and Prop 42 at 54%, and Prop 40 takes effect only if it outpolls both in yes votes. Every gap between the three sits inside a 3.8-point margin of error.
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The San Francisco Democratic Party broke with its state party 17-4 to oppose Prop 40, but the six billionaires who have already ended their California residency are the only votes on this measure that are already counted.
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Proposition 40 would take 5% once from anyone worth over $1 billion. August polling puts it at 48% among likely voters and 75% among 18-to-29s. The composition of the November electorate is the only number that decides it.
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The CPA body opposes Proposition 40 on administrability grounds, then endorses Proposition 42, which would bar the tax outright. Approval votes, not a majority, settle it.
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A 5% levy on about 200 people was costed against wealth that has already moved. Fortune counts roughly $29 billion gone, and the two men at the top were 28.5% of the base.
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John Doerr put in $7.5 million and Chris Larsen $10 million against a one-time 5% wealth tax. Measured against what the measure would cost them, that is cheap insurance.
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Mark Cuban and Ro Khanna spent a weekend arguing on X about California's Proposition 40. The operative question for founders is where the cash comes from.
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California's billionaire tax faces a nine-figure defense built as ballot engineering: two counter-measures that only have to outpoll Prop 40, not beat it head-on.
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