California's revenue problem

The top one percent of California households pay forty to fifty percent of all personal income tax revenue, making state finances vulnerable to stock market swings.

The billionaire tax proposal

Proposition forty would impose a one-time five percent tax on the assets of residents worth more than one billion dollars, potentially raising one hundred billion dollars.

The Trojan horse fear

Opponents call Prop forty a Trojan horse, warning that the state legislature could modify it with a two-thirds vote, potentially expanding the tax to all Californians.

“Trojan horse”

Courts have split on changes

California courts have both upheld and struck down amendments to ballot measures. In nineteen ninety-five, the state Supreme Court allowed changes if they advanced voters' original intent.

Nobel economists back the tax

Six Nobel laureate economists including Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz signed a letter saying billionaires have been amply rewarded and used loopholes to avoid taxes on capital returns.

“amply rewarded”

Silicon Valley splits on the measure

Governor Gavin Newsom opposes Prop forty, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he is perfectly fine with it. Google cofounder Sergey Brin contributed over one hundred million dollars opposing it.

“perfectly fine”

Competing ballot measures complicate vote

Proposition forty-one and Proposition forty-two would limit or prohibit new taxes. A recent poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found all three measures have majority voter support.