The initiative to tax California’s wealthiest residents moved closer to the November ballot Monday, when the California Billionaire Tax coalition filed more than 1.55 million petition signatures — roughly 5 percent of the state’s population.
The coalition is made up of labor groups, such as the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and AFSCME Local 3299, which represents more than 40,000 service and patient care workers across the University of California system. The proposal would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on the assets of roughly 200 California residents with net worths exceeding $1.1 billion. As previously reported by the Santa Barbara Independent, supporters estimate the tax could generate approximately $100 billion over five years, largely to offset last year’s healthcare and social services budget cuts by the Trump administration.
Supporters warn these cuts could strip healthcare coverage from up to 3.4 million Californians and pull roughly $20 billion a year from the state’s healthcare system. “We cannot let California’s billionaires get away with destroying our local hospitals and clinics with their greed,” said AFSCME Local 3299 Executive Director Liz Perlman in a press release. Ultrasound technician and SEIU member Mayra Castañeda echoed the sentiment— “It’s clear that most Californians and most billionaires recognize how reasonable and necessary this proposal is — both to keep emergency rooms open and to save California businesses from closing.”
The signatures must now be verified by county election officials. At least 875,000 valid signatures are required for the measure to qualify, with a final decision expected later this summer.
The proposal has already triggered a hefty political fight that looks to be leading to an expensive election brawl. Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders has endorsed the measure, while California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has publicly opposed it. Opposition groups backed by billionaire business interests have warned of economic consequences, citing an analysis led by former California Department of Finance Director Michael Genest that estimates the measure could cost as many as 108,000 high-paying jobs and reduce state tax revenue over time.
Closer to home, developer Rick Caruso — whose projects include the Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito — has publicly called wealth tax proposals “very bad policy” that could drive investment out of the state. Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, who owns a Montecito estate, has contributed more than $3 million to groups opposing the measure, including the political action committee Building a Better California, which is backing competing ballot measures that would prohibit new taxes on financial assets.
