California has rejected wealth taxes, but for the wrong reasons

California voters appear to have rejected a proposed one-off wealth tax, a result the article’s author supports but says opponents may struggle to defend persuasively. Because the campaign against the measure relied heavily on billionaire funding, the result could strengthen claims that objections to wealth taxes are driven by wealthy people protecting their own interests.

Proposition 40 would have imposed a 5 per cent tax on net wealth above $1bn for people who lived in California at the start of 2026, even if they later moved away. The article says the No campaign raised about $300m, nearly ten times the amount raised by supporters, with Google co-founder Sergey Brin contributing more than $100m. It argues that opponents need to explain wider economic concerns, while acknowledging that some wealth-tax supporters accept those concerns but believe careful design can address them.