No, not currently. While the idea of a “wealth tax” or “billionaire tax” has been proposed and debated multiple times in California, there is **no such measure currently on an imminent ballot** (like November 2024) that voters are “about to decide” on.
Here’s a breakdown:
1. **Past Proposals:** Several legislative proposals have been introduced in the California Assembly over the past few years (e.g., AB 208, AB 259, AB 310). These bills aimed to impose an annual tax on the worldwide net worth of California residents exceeding certain thresholds (often starting at $50 million, $1 billion, or even lower, depending on the specific bill), including unrealized capital gains. The revenue was often earmarked for public services, including healthcare, education, or homelessness initiatives.
2. **Status:** These legislative proposals have consistently faced strong opposition, significant legal and practical questions (particularly regarding taxing *unrealized* gains and extraterritorial wealth), and have not advanced successfully through the legislative process to be placed on a ballot.
3. **”World’s First”**: If California were to implement an annual tax specifically on billionaires’ worldwide net worth, including unrealized gains, it would indeed be a highly novel and likely unprecedented move for a US state, and possibly globally in that specific configuration. While some countries (like Switzerland, Norway, and Spain) have various forms of wealth taxes, and Argentina implemented a one-time “millionaire’s tax,” the continuous annual taxation of unrealized capital gains on worldwide assets by a sub-national entity like a state would be groundbreaking and highly contentious.
**In summary:** While the concept of taxing the ultra-wealthy is a recurring topic in California politics, there is no active ballot measure that California voters are currently “about to decide” on to impose a tax on billionaires for healthcare improvements. The legislative efforts to establish such a tax have not yet succeeded.
