In reaction to Proposition 40 not winning a majority of votes in California, which would have authorized a one-time, 5% wealth tax on the state’s billionaires, Nabil Ahmed, Oxfam America’s senior director of economic justice, said:
“Frankly, the fact that a wealth tax was even on the ballot was already a massive win. Over the course of the past few weeks and months we have seen popularity for taxing wealth grow, along with ever-strengthened support for its economic credibility.
“While we hoped for Prop. 40’s passage, this moment still marks progress toward a new era of bold taxation, and the billionaires know it. They had to resort to pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the fight against this measure.
“We have entered a phase of not if, but how and when we will tax wealth – and the California case has taught us how such proposals can be strengthened for the future in states across the country and at the federal level. Momentum for taxing the ultra-rich is only increasing in the U.S. and around the world, and it becomes more urgent if we are to combat today’s oligarchy.”
/ENDS
Notes to editors:
Read Oxfam America’s April 2026 and October 2026 analyses on California billionaire wealth.