Mark Zuckerberg made a deal with Meta’s board to help him pay a proposed California tax on billionaires without losing his ownership stake in the company he founded, according to regulatory filings published this week.
Election 2026: California billionaires tax
Coverage of efforts to pass Proposition 40, a one-time tax on California billionaires in the November 2026 election.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
If you are a progressive, vote yes on Prop 3 and Prop 40, and no on the billionaire-backed decoys
California voters face a complicated set of tax initiatives, with major implications for healthcare, public services and the state’s ability to raise revenue. Progressive economist Richard McGahey urges voters to support Proposition 3, which extends existing income tax rates on high earners, and Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth to help offset devastating federal cuts. But two billionaire-backed measures, Props 41 and 42, threaten to undermine the wealth tax and make future tax increases more difficult, he writes. He recommends: vote yes on Props 3 and 40, and no on Props 41 and 42.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Fact check: Could California lawmakers expand the billionaire tax to everyone?
Opponents of Proposition 40 say the billionaire tax allows lawmakers to change the measure with a two-thirds vote. CalMatters unpacks how the ballot measure would work.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The billionaire tax could be defeated by two other tax measures. Here’s how
California voters will soon decide whether to tax billionaires — but even if a majority says yes, the measure could still lose to either of two billionaire-funded measures designed to cancel it out.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Newsom’s populist act: Oppose state billionaire tax, embrace federal one
With proposals to tax the rich, Gavin Newsom is playing to a 2028 national audience anxious about artificial intelligence. As California governor, he’s walked a fine line on taxes for years.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I’d make a really good billionaire and think I should be given the opportunity to prove it.
This November, Californians will vote on a one-time 5% wealth tax for billionaires. This comes just as Elon Musk briefly became the world’s first trillionaire, highlighting the growing divide between the super wealthy and the rest of the world. Here, with his characteristic humor, Daniel DeLong examines the role of money in human civilization and offers to take one for the team.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Newsom urges a national ‘billionaires’ tax’ while fighting one in California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a run for president as he approaches the end of his term, called for a national “billionaires’ tax” on Friday even as he fights another proposal targeting the wealthy in his home state.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Billionaire tax, affordable housing: See the measures on California’s November ballot
California voters will decide on 14 statewide policy proposals come November, including the high-stakes billionaire tax, an $11 billion affordable housing bond and voter ID requirements.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Labor union offers to scale back California billionaire tax proposal after pushback
A labor union behind a controversial tax on California billionaires significantly scaled back its proposal a day after it qualified for the November ballot, but the offer Thursday wasn’t enough to get Gov. Gavin Newsom on board.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California union’s billionaire tax qualifies for ballot amid fierce opposition
A California union wants to tax billionaires to fund healthcare. The initiative has drawn fierce opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Silicon Valley moguls.
