California union moves to place one‑time tax on billionaires on November ballot

A California health care workers union is gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would impose a one‑time tax on residents with billionaire-level net worth, a proposal that has touched off a heated debate across the state. The measure, drafted by Service Employees International Union‑United Healthcare Workers West and called the "2026 Billionaire Tax Act," would require people with net worth beyond $1.1 billion to pay a one‑time tax equal to 5 percent of their assets, while those worth between $1 billion and $1.1 billion would pay a smaller percentage.

It would apply retroactively to anyone living in California as of Jan. 1, 2026, and allow payments to be spread over five years starting in 2027; the union says roughly 200 billionaires in the state would be affected. The proposal would require nearly 900,000 valid signatures to reach the ballot and then a majority vote to pass.

The state would be required to spend 90 percent of new revenues on health care and the remainder on food assistance and education, and the union says the tax is meant to offset federal cuts to Medicaid, Affordable Care Act subsidies and food assistance that it attributes to legislation signed by President Trump last year.

California’s nonpartisan legislative analyst and the Department of Finance estimated the measure would bring tens of billions in one‑time revenue but could produce continuing losses if wealthy residents left the state to avoid the tax.

Key Topics

Politics, United Healthcare Workers, California, Billionaire Tax Act, Gavin Newsom, Bernie Sanders