California voters reject proposed one-off tax on billionaires

California voters have rejected a proposed one-off tax on billionaires, ending a campaign to raise money for healthcare as the state faces cuts to federal health funding. The measure, Proposition 40, would have taxed the wealth of residents worth more than $1.1bn at 5%. [BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq398em3032wo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)

The proposal was projected to fail after nearly a week of vote counting following the midterm election. It would have applied to assets including shares, not just income, and supporters said it could raise about $100bn to help offset healthcare funding reductions tied to President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law.

The plan divided Democrats and labour unions and faced opposition from Governor Gavin Newsom, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and other wealthy Californians. Newsom warned that the tax could prompt wealthy residents to leave, putting the state’s income-tax revenue at risk. Critics also spent heavily to defeat the proposal; Brin gave more than $100m to a political organisation funding ballot measures that could block it, the Los Angeles Times reported, according to the BBC.