California voters will likely be voting on a slate of competing tax measures in November. The secretary of state reported that two ballot initiatives designed to challenge provisions of the proposed billionaires’ tax initiative qualified for the ballot on June 24. The initiatives are constitutional amendments that would:
- prohibit the enactment of new taxes after Jan. 1, 2026, on the ownership or control of retirement holdings, individually owned assets, and other forms of personal savings; prohibit retroactive taxes that impose liability based on conduct, activities, or a status that occurred or existed before the tax took effect; and
- require state laws or ballot initiatives enacted after Jan. 1, 2026, that impose new special taxes—taxes levied for specific purposes—to undergo state audits evaluating program effectiveness and potential cost savings; and prohibit the state from enforcing any tax enacted or taking effect on or after Jan. 1, 2026, that is exempt from or excluded from the state spending limit.
The billionaires' tax is sponsored by SEIU-UHW and qualified for the ballot on June 17. The initiative would enact a one-time tax of 5% on an individual's net worth exceeding $1 billion. The tax would be retroactive and apply to any billionaire residing in the state as of January 1, 2026. Revenue from the tax would fund reductions in federal spending or state appropriations; Medi-Cal and other health coverage programs for low- and moderate-income individuals; health care access, benefits, and services; public education from K-14; and food assistance programs such as CalFresh, CalFAP, CalFood, or California's Universal Meals Program for school meals.
Both initiatives challenging the billionaires' tax contain competing measures' provisions. The first initiative, which prohibits new taxes on the ownership or accumulation of retirement holdings, individually-owned assets, and other forms of personal savings, states that if the initiative receives more votes than a competing measure, it would prevail in its entirety over any other measures on the 2026 ballot related to taxing personal assets.
The second amendment states that ballot measures appearing on the same statewide election ballot that either impose different audit rules or a state tax exempt from the state spending limit would be deemed in conflict with this initiative. If the initiative is approved and receives more affirmative votes than the competing measure, it prevails over the other measure in its entirety. If both measures are approved and the competing measure receives more affirmative votes but is later ruled invalid, the initiative would take effect.
Californians to Protect Retirement and Life Savings, sponsored by Building a Better California, is leading the Yes to Protect Retirement and Life Savings campaign in support of the first initiative. The campaign submitted more than 1.6 million raw signatures. The secretary of state reported that more than 1 million were valid or projected to be valid from a random sample count.
Californians for a More Transparent and Effective Government is leading the campaign in support of the tax audit initiative. The campaign submitted more than 1.5 million signatures for verification, of which 979,433 were valid or projected to be valid. The signature requirement for initiated constitutional amendments is 874,641 valid signatures (8% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election).
Together, the campaigns reported over $56.4 million in contributions as of March 30, the last campaign finance deadline. All of the contributions were from Building a Better California, which has received $57 million from Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
In California, the deadline to qualify for the ballot is June 25 (131 days before the election). Sponsors of qualified ballot initiatives have until 5 p.m. on that day to withdraw qualified measures. Cal Matters reported Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and state leaders are negotiating with the sponsors of the billionaires’ tax in hopes of keeping it off the ballot.
Two dueling ballot initiatives backed by Uber and Consumer Attorneys of California will be removed from the ballot after previously qualifying for the ballot last week. Since 2014, when the state authorized campaigns to withdraw qualified initiatives from the ballot 131 days prior to the election, sponsors have withdrawn 14 ballot initiatives.
As of June 24, 17 ballot measures have qualified for the California ballot in November — 14 ballot initiatives, including the Uber and Consumer Attorneys ballot initiatives, which have not been formally withdrawn, and three legislative referrals. To see the complete list of measures, click here.
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