Wealth Tax Initiative Clears Signature Threshold for California's 2026 Ballot ● UPDATING

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D.

announced on June 20, 2026, that a proposed initiative to impose a one-time tax on certain wealthy individuals and trusts has gathered enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot. The initiative became eligible on June 17, 2026, after a random sampling of signatures projected that the number of valid signatures exceeded the required threshold.

To qualify for the ballot, the initiative needed at least 874,641 valid petition signatures, which represents eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 General Election. However, to become eligible through random sampling, the projected number of valid signatures had to be greater than 110 percent of the required number, or at least 962,106 projected valid signatures.

The initiative surpassed that threshold, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Unless the proponent withdraws the measure by June 25, 2026, under Elections Code section 9604(b), the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as officially qualified for the November 2026 ballot on that date. The Attorney General's official title and summary describe the measure as imposing a one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with covered assets valued over $1 billion.

Covered assets include businesses, securities, art, collectibles, and intellectual property, but exclude real property and certain pensions and retirement accounts.

The measure would allocate 90% of the tax revenues to health care programs and 10% to food assistance or education-related initiatives. It also prohibits using these revenues to replace existing funding for those purposes.

The initiative would exempt such tax revenues from constitutional requirements for school funding, budget reserves, and the state spending limit.

A fiscal analysis by the Legislative Analyst and the Director of Finance projects a temporary increase in state revenues from the new wealth tax, potentially adding tens of billions of dollars spread over several years. However, it also anticipates a likely ongoing decrease in state income tax revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars or more per year.

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 2001, and the Attorney General's tracking number is 25-0024A1.