California voters reject billionaire tax

The proposed measure would have imposed a one-time 5 percent tax on Californian billionaires to fund healthcare and other programmes. Voters in California have rejected a proposed tax on billionaires, according to projections by the Associated Press news agency.

With about 60 percent of votes counted, the tax proposal appeared to be headed for defeat on Tuesday, with the “no” vote leading at 55.6 percent compared with 44.4 percent for “yes”. Known as Proposition 40, the tax would have raised $100bn, most of which would have been earmarked for healthcare programmes, but education and food-assistance programmes would also receive funds.

It was championed by United States Senator Bernie Sanders and other progressive politicians as a remedy for economic inequality and a model for the rest of the country. However, outgoing California Governor Gavin Newsom, a likely candidate for the 2028 Democratic Party presidential nomination, came out against the measure.