Vote NO on Prop 40
Updated: Oct 19
Here's Why:
- Wealth taxes punish success and drive capital, jobs, and high earners out of California.
- They rarely raise as much revenue as promised while expanding government control over private wealth.
- Prop 40 is a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' non-real-estate assets, but it still risks capital flight and sets a precedent for broader wealth taxation.
- California already has some of the highest taxes in the nation. More taxes on wealth won't fix our problems.
Summary: Prop 40 taxes net worth (not just income), which is fluid and requires subjective valuations of stocks, private businesses, art, and other assets. Residency is locked in as of January 1, 2026, so people who left the state on January 2nd, for example, are still on the hook. It is written as a one-time tax, but California has a track record of temporary taxes becoming permanent (see Prop 3 on this same ballot, which would make the 2012 high-income tax rates permanent). If you are in Fresno County, you might also be familiar with Measure S - a Sacramento-backed effort (led by Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria) to extend for another 30 years the transportation tax that is supposed to sunset next year. Expanding the Prop 40 tax later only requires a two-thirds legislative vote, not a return to the voters.
At the end of the day, the most important factor is that no one - including the government or the unions backing the measure - is entitled to someone else’s money simply because they have more of it.
Secretary of State Link to Official Source Documents for all Propositions
