# California's billionaire tax battle signals party divide > A one-time five percent tax on billionaires splits Democrats as the November vote looms with national implications. - Title: California's billionaire tax battle signals party divide - Summary: A one-time five percent tax on billionaires splits Democrats as the November vote looms with national implications. California voters will decide on… - Keywords: california, proposition 40, billionaire tax, democrats, xavier becerra, tom steyer, ro khanna, sergey brin, 2028 presidential primary, wealth inequality, ballot measure, politics - Source: NBC News — https://nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/california-showdown-national-implications-politics-desk-rcna600773 - Author: The Politics Desk - Published: 2026-09-30T21:32:43.288+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: california, proposition 40, billionaire tax, democrats, xavier becerra, tom steyer, ro khanna, sergey brin, 2028 presidential primary, wealth inequality, ballot measure, politics ## California avoids governor's fight Progressive activist Tom Steyer finished third in the all-party primary this summer, leaving former Health Secretary Xavier Becerra as the clear favorite against Republican Steve Hilton in November. ## Billionaire tax battle brewing California voters will decide this fall whether to implement a one-time five percent tax on the state's billionaires, listed as Proposition forty, shaping up as one of the most expensive campaigns in the country. ## Roughly one hundred million spent on ads Roughly one hundred million dollars has already been spent or booked on ads through Election Day according to AdImpact, with tech leaders in Silicon Valley aggressively lined up against the measure. ## Google co-founder opposes tax Tech leaders in Silicon Valley, most notably Google co-founder Sergey Brin, have aggressively lined up against the billionaire tax, which was pushed by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West. ## Democrats split on the measure Former Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom are against the tax, while Rep. Ro Khanna and Tom Steyer are for it, creating a major fault line for the party. ## Party leaders stay silent Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla have not taken firm public stances on the ballot measure. ## Forty-eight percent support the tax According to an NBCUniversal Local and Telemundo Station Group survey, forty-eight percent of likely California voters back the billionaire tax, while thirty-eight percent oppose it and fourteen percent are undecided. ## Democrats strongly support it Among Democrats, sixty-seven percent said they will vote for the proposal and nineteen percent said they will vote against it, showing stronger support within the party than among the general electorate. ## Voters not worried about exodus The poll showed that fifty-nine percent of respondents said they were not concerned about wealthy Californians fleeing the state, compared with forty-one percent who said they were concerned. ## Raising taxes on billionaires tops list A national NBC News poll earlier this month asked registered voters whether fifteen different attributes would make them more or less likely to support a candidate. The most popular? Raising taxes on billionaires. ## Victory would energize progressives Passage of a first-of-its-kind billionaire tax would be a major shot in the arm for progressives heading into the twenty twenty-eight campaign, highlighting the populist streak running through the party's base. ## Khanna teams up with Sanders Rep. Ro Khanna is set to team up with Sen. Bernie Sanders for rallies in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the coming days in support of the wealth tax. ## Trump renames AI superintelligence To reassure a skittish public about artificial intelligence safety, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring all federal agencies to rename AI as superintelligence, or SI. ## Tech leaders promise self-regulation The White House heralded a new accord to develop internal safety controls to prevent rogue agents from spinning out of control. Trump called the voluntary agreement morally binding. > morally binding ## Gates says self-regulation insufficient In an interview with Meet the Press that aired Sunday, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates told Kristen Welker that AI is powerful enough to drive events that cause a billion deaths, and said no one thinks self-regulation is enough. > No one thinks self-regulation is enough. ## Pope questions Nvidia CEO's commitment Speaking to reporters yesterday, Pope Leo questioned Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's commitment to safety, saying concerns raised by experts in AI should be taken seriously. ## Key takeaway California voters will decide on Proposition forty, a five percent billionaire tax that divides Democrats and could shape the party's twenty twenty-eight direction.