California billionaire tax will appear on ballot after deadline for deal passes

Attendees at a Bernie Sanders rally in favor of the billionaire tax in Los Angeles in February. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Attendees at a Bernie Sanders rally in favor of the billionaire tax in Los Angeles in February. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images California billionaire tax will appear on ballot after deadline for deal passes Proposal to introduce one-time tax of 5% will go to voters in November after backers decline to withdraw measure California’s billionaire tax, explained: what you need to know California voters will get to decide in November whether billionaires should pay a one-time 5% tax, after a deadline passed on Thursday for its backers to withdraw the measure. The so-called billionaire tax is among the highest-profile ballot efforts in the US this year taking aim at rising wealth disparities, and is set to be one of the state’s most contentious ballot initiatives. It has already spurred tech moguls to pour millions of dollars into attempts to stop the proposal. State officials announced last week that the California Billionaire Tax Act had reached enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, but the elections process allowed the coalition backing the tax until 5pm on Thursday to decide whether to move forward with it. Negotiations this week between the unions behind the effort and Governor Gavin Newsom failed to reach a deal by the cutoff, with California’s secretary of state subsequently confirming the tax proposal would go to voters. To get on the November ballot, backers of a measure must first gain a certain threshold of signatures from California residents in support of the initiative. The ballot proposal was put forward by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), which has argued it would fund the state’s healthcare, education and food assistance programs. Newsom and billionaire-backed groups opposing the tax allege that it would drive business out of California and harm the economy. The billionaire tax has grown in prominence throughout the year as proponents gained over 1.55m signatures by April alone, more than double the requirement for getting on the ballot – something organizers say is testament to its popularity. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley elites campaigned hard against the proposal, with wealthy tech moguls including the Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, crypto billionaire Chris Larsen and Google co-founder Sergey Brin funding opposition groups such as the California Business Roundtable. Brin alone has spent tens of millions since January to kill the effort, while his co-founder Larry Page has made moves to cut ties with the state. Opponents of the tax have also pursued their own ballot measures to undercut its effects. The group Building a Better California has put forward an initiative, which gained enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, to prohibit new taxes on retirement holdings, individually owned assets, an