California Gov. Gavin Newsom is still not giving up on the billionaire tax even after numerous setbacks to getting it passed.
In a post on his Substack, Newsom explains why he plans to vote against a wealth tax that will appear on a ballot initiative in November. He noted that "When 10% of the people in this country own two-thirds of the wealth, when we have minted the first trillionaire in human history, and yet your wages have stagnated, and your healthcare costs have skyrocketed, something is fundamentally broken."
However, he says he can’t support the proposed wealth tax because it would send almost all the new revenue to just one area of spending, which means it ignores schools, health clinics, housing, and public safety. "We can’t let a single advocacy organization, however well-intentioned, write the state’s tax code on its own terms,” he wrote.
But this doesn’t mean he doesn’t support the idea of stealing more money from the wealthy. Instead, he wants a national billionaire’s tax.
New:
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) June 18, 2026
Backers of the Billionaire’s Tax offer to take the measure off the California ballot if Gov. Newsom agrees to put a 2% billionaire’s tax into state law.
The ballot initiative proposes 5%.
Less than a week to figure this out or else it heads to voters in November: pic.twitter.com/meKC1xXBeU
So here is what I support: A national billionaires’ tax. A true minimum tax on billionaires — a modern Buffett Rule — that ensures the people at the very top pay at least the tax rate their own workers pay. Today, the office worker can shoulder a higher tax rate than the heiress. The construction worker could pay a higher rate than the developer. And the delivery driver can end up paying a higher rate than the founder of the company whose packages he delivers.
That system is the result of decades of loopholes written by lobbyists and upheld by politicians who knew exactly who they worked for. The wealthy have their own private tax code full of loopholes and exemptions that most people have never heard of, and they’re counting on politicians in Washington to maintain it and keep quiet.
The governor proposed a minimum tax on billionaires and closing special loopholes that help the richest individuals avoid paying taxes on big loans and inheritances. "Trickle-down economics has been a nearly 50-year experiment that has failed,” he wrote.
He further stated that "It is time to democratize the American economy to save our democracy. It is time for a national billionaires’ tax."
Billionaire Wealth Tax Headed to the California Ballot:
— The American Prospect (@TheProspect) June 26, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who opposes the tax, tried to intimidate proponents into pulling the measure. It didn’t work. https://t.co/8A0XysxD8G pic.twitter.com/HciATNYXYH
The battle to impose a one-time billionaire tax in California dates back to late 2025 when the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West launched the Billionaire Tax Act initiative in response to anticipated federal cuts in healthcare funding.
SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan said at the October 2025 campaign launch, “We are facing literally a collapse of our healthcare system here in California and elsewhere.”
The measure calls for a five percent tax on the net worth of roughly 200 California residents worth more than $1 billion as of January 1, 2026. The revenue from this tax would go mostly to healthcare programs and, to a lesser degree, to education and food assistance.
Proponents gathered over 1.6 million signatures and qualified for the ballot. Union spokesperson Renée Saldaña said, “Whether or not folks support this, they can’t deny that these massive cuts to healthcare are coming... Nobody else has a solution to fill this massive $100 billion funding gap that is facing California.”