California voters reject billionaire tax—Washington voters uphold one for millionaires

With 60 percent of the vote in by Wednesday morning in California, voters appear to reject Proposition 40, with 55.6 percent voting against it. The ballot measure, if passed, would impose a one-time five percent tax on billionaires.

In the lead-up to the election, multiple billionaires left the state over the ballot measure. By March, six billionaires had left, taking with them a collective $27 billion in tax revenue, which represented roughly one-fourth of the $100 billion the initiative was projected to bring in. This included Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

In Washington state, voters appear to have rejected an attempt to repeal the state’s millionaire tax. According to the latest results as of 1:22 am Wednesday, 58.1 percent of voters did not want to repeal the tax, with 60 percent of the vote in. The ballot measure also sought to prohibit the state from enacting new individual income taxes.

WA’s millionaire tax was signed into law in March, and imposes a 9.9 percent tax on annual household income above $1 million. The tax will go into effect in 2028.