California unions push one‑time 5% billionaire wealth tax
A proposed California ballot initiative backed by SEIU‑United Healthcare Workers West would impose a one‑time 5% wealth tax in 2027 on the state’s roughly 255 billionaires, raising what the Legislative Analyst’s Office says could be tens of billions of dollars, with about 90% of proceeds earmarked for health care and the rest for food assistance and education. The measure would tax assets such as businesses, stocks, bonds, art and intellectual property (excluding real estate and most retirement accounts), is framed by sponsors as a way to backfill an estimated $190 billion, decade‑long Medi‑Cal shortfall from federal Medicaid cuts, and is drawing opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom and wealthy investors like Bill Ackman who warn it could drive billionaires out of the state.
📌 Key Facts
- The initiative would levy a one‑time 5% tax on the net wealth of about 255 California billionaires, separate from income taxes.
- Taxable assets would include businesses, securities, art, collectibles and intellectual property, while real estate and most pensions/retirement accounts would be excluded per the attorney general’s summary.
- Billionaires would owe the tax in 2027 but could spread payments over five years by paying an extra 7.5% annual nondeductible charge on the remaining balance.
- Roughly 90% of revenue would be dedicated to health‑care programs, with 10% going to food assistance or education, according to the proposal.
- SEIU‑UHW says the measure is intended to offset about $190 billion in projected Medi‑Cal funding losses over 10 years stemming from roughly $1 trillion in federal Medicaid cuts in Republicans’ recent tax-and-spending law.
- California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated in a December 11 analysis that the tax would likely raise "tens of billions of dollars."
- Gov. Gavin Newsom has previously opposed wealth‑tax proposals, saying they are "going nowhere in California," and billionaire Bill Ackman publicly criticized the plan as an expropriation of private property with harmful side effects.
📊 Relevant Data
California has approximately 199 billionaires as of 2025, with a combined net worth estimated at around $2.2 trillion.
Mapped: States With the Most U.S. Billionaires in 2025 — Visual Capitalist
The top 1% of earners in California contribute about half of the state's total income tax revenue.
Is California actually putting a new tax on billionaires? — KCRA
France's wealth tax contributed to the exodus of an estimated 42,000 millionaires between 2000 and 2012.
If a Wealth Tax is Such a Good Idea, Why Did Europe Kill Theirs? — NPR
As of January 2025, the racial/ethnic distribution of Medi-Cal certified eligibles is approximately 49% Hispanic, 20% White, 13% Asian/Pacific Islander, 7% Black, and 11% Other/Unknown.
In California, the typical White household has $9.72 in wealth for every $1 that a typical Black family has and $8.26 in wealth for every $1 that a typical Latino family has.
The Racial Wealth Gap — California Budget & Policy Center
Households with a White, non-Hispanic householder had 10 times more wealth than those with a Black householder in 2021.
Wealth by Race of Householder — U.S. Census Bureau