Supporters of a proposed one‑time tax on California billionaires say they have gathered enough signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot. The initiative, filed by Service Employees International Union‑United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU‑UHW), which represents more than 120,000 California health care workers, would impose a single 5% levy on residents with net worths of $1 billion or more. Organizers say they collected more than 1.5 million signatures, comfortably above the roughly 875,000 needed to qualify.
Titled the “2026 Billionaire Tax Act,” the measure is pitched as a way to shore up hospital and clinic funding, support K–14 public education and bolster state food assistance programs. Backers cite an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis estimating the tax could raise about $100 billion over five years.
Proponents note there are about 200 billionaires living in California who hold an estimated $2 trillion in combined wealth, and say their effective annual tax rates are well below what many middle‑class Californians pay. SEIU‑UHW chief of staff and lead sponsor Suzanne Jimenez said collecting the signatures was the first hurdle and vowed the coalition will continue campaigning to prevent what she called looming cuts to health care services.
Opponents, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, warn the measure could hurt the state economy and budget if it prompts wealthy residents to leave. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, a New York resident, criticized the idea as tantamount to expropriation with potentially serious unintended consequences.
At a press conference announcing the milestone, proponents played down predictions of a mass billionaire exodus, saying many ultra‑wealthy people have deep ties to California even as a small number have reported moving out of state. The group will submit signatures to election officials as the next formal step toward placing the question before voters.