Overview
- Union backers plan to start collecting signatures in January, needing nearly 875,000 valid names to qualify the measure for the November 2026 ballot.
- The initiative would impose a one-time 5% tax on Californians with net worths above $1 billion, applied retroactively to Jan. 1, 2026, with payments due starting in 2027 and eligible to be spread over several years.
- Proponents say roughly 90% of the revenue would support healthcare and the rest would fund food assistance or education, while critics warn the levy reaches illiquid and unrealized assets.
- Tech figures including Larry Page and Peter Thiel are reportedly weighing moves or reducing ties to California, as Palmer Luckey and others warn founders could be forced to sell stakes; an opposition committee has begun organizing.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom has come out against the tax, Rep. Ro Khanna faces calls for a primary over his support, and attorney Alex Spiro’s letter to Newsom flags constitutional risks as the state’s analyst cautions departures could cut revenue by hundreds of millions annually.