California Billionaire Tax Support Slips Below 50% in New Poll
The 2,418-person poll found 45% support and 43% opposition, with heavy spending and billionaire-backed attacks shaping the campaign.
- A new Berkeley Citrin Center-POLITICO poll found 45% of likely voters support Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on Californians with assets over $1 billion, while 43% oppose it and 12% remain undecided.
- Opponents launched an advertising blitz last week, funded by more than $100 million from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, while proponents rely heavily on labor union SEIU-UHW support.
- A separate September Public Policy Institute of California survey reported 52% support, showing how framing affects opinion. Yet 83% of voters aware of the measure oppose it by a 57-38 margin among those most familiar.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the proposal, arguing he aims to protect California's economy rather than billionaires. Pollsters suggest his stance could become a political liability if he pursues a 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
- Six Nobel Prize-winning economists, including MIT faculty, have endorsed the measure, arguing that taxing extreme wealth is essential to shoring up public services and addressing growing inequality in the United States.
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Election 2026: California voters will decide on a first-in-the-nation billionaires tax — two competing measures could block it
California’s Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires to fund healthcare and other programs, but two competing ballot measures could block it even if voters approve it.
Six Nobel economists back California wealth tax, while tech billionaires spend $120m to block it
California's proposed tax on billionaire fortunes has opened a fight between high-profile economists who support it and powerful tech figures who want it defeated. If California voters pass Proposition 40 in November, the measure could establish the first billionaire wealth tax in the United States. Here's what to know Novara Media reported six Nobel Prize-winning economists have thrown their support behind Proposition 40, which would impose a o…
Acemoglu, Krugman and Stiglitz, among others, sign a letter in which they defend the one rate of 5% to those who possess a wealth of more than 1 billion dollars, which will be put to vote on 3 November
California billionaire tax loses ground in new poll
California Billionaire Tax Support Slips Below 50% in New Poll
SACRAMENTO, California — Support for California’s proposed billionaire tax has fallen below 50% as voters prepare to decide Proposition 40 in November, according to a new UC Berkeley Citrin Center-POLITICO poll. The survey found 45% support the measure, 43% oppose it and 12% remain undecided. That represents a decline from a February survey in which 50% supported Proposition 40 and 28% opposed it. The Sept. 8-14 poll included 2,418 respondents a…
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