Californians reject wealth tax for billionaires

The ballot proposal would have levied a one-time tax on the state's mega wealthy to help fund healthcare. It took nearly a week of counting votes after the midterm election to determine a projection on the measure. There are about 200 billionaires in the state, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg , reality television star Kim Kardashian and media mogul Oprah Winfrey.

Proposition 40 targeted Californians with a wealth of more than $1.1bn (£800m) with a 5% tax on their total wealth, including assets such as shares as well as income. It failed amid divisions among Democrats and labour unions. The tax would have raised about $100bn to make up for federal funding cuts to healthcare in California as a result of President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.

Those who backed the measure had argued it would help ensure that the ultra-wealthy were contributing their fair share and helping backfill gaps in the state's budget. The wealth tax faced fierce opposition, including from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, as well as California Governor Gavin Newsom and labour unions.