Momentum builds for commonsense measure to save jobs and keep local emergency rooms open through one-time tax on billionaires
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — “Most likely voters support a one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with covered assets valued over $1 billion,” finds a new Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll released Thursday. The poll also found overwhelming support for the California Billionaire Tax among Democratic likely voters, with 76% saying they would vote in favor of the proposal.
The poll reveals especially strong support among younger voters and working Californians directly impacted by rising costs and healthcare instability. 67% of voters ages 18 to 34 support the measure, along with 71% of renters. The findings come as Californians increasingly express deep economic anxiety. According to the same PPIC survey, 54% of Californians say recent price increases have caused financial hardship, while a record 78% expect bad financial times in the year ahead.
The findings come as momentum continues to grow for the commonsense measure, which would place a one-time tax on extreme billionaire wealth to help California prevent devastating cuts to hospitals, emergency rooms, clinics, and essential public services while protecting jobs across the state.
Supporters say the poll reflects growing public frustration with widening inequality and increasing concern over the future of healthcare access in California communities already facing financial strain and service reductions.
“Californians understand what’s at stake in President Trump’s ‘Big Ugly Bill’,” said Debru Carthan, Executive Vice President of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, one of the lead sponsors of the California Billionaire Tax Act. “While working families are being told to accept hospital closures and skyrocketing healthcare costs, billionaires are getting tax cuts and super yachts. This measure is about making billionaires finally pay their fair share.”
The California Billionaire Tax Act is gaining the support of more community-based organizations and elected officials each week as a one-time emergency tax designed to ensure that billionaires pay their fair share to stabilize and protect the state’s healthcare system, including hospitals, nursing homes, community health centers, and home care services.
The more than 400 hospitals statewide have already laid off more than 3,400 healthcare workers as of mid-March, with a second wave of layoffs expected as funding cuts tied to recent federal policy changes are phased in over the next several years. Statewide, projections show the cuts could result in the loss of more than 200,000 jobs, including 145,000 healthcare jobs — impacting hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and home care providers alike.
In November, California voters will at last have a chance to make billionaires pay their fair share to help prevent that, through a commonsense ballot initiative that places a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of approximately 200 billionaires who reside in the Golden State. Ninety percent of that funding will go to offset Medi-Cal cuts in order to prevent ER and other service closures, and 10% will go toward funding food assistance and public education.
About the California Billionaire Tax Act
The California Billionaire Tax Act proposes a one-time emergency tax on the wealth of the state’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals to safeguard Medi-Cal, keep hospitals and emergency rooms open, expand food assistance, and support public education. The initiative is a direct response to federal healthcare cuts under HR1 that threaten healthcare access and economic stability for millions of Californians.
| Paid for by Save California Health Care and Public Education, Sponsored by Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West. Committee’s Top Funder Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West |
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