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California's proposed billionaire tax: How does it add up?
Proposition Forty would hit about two hundred billionaires once, and opponents have backed two rival measures that could cancel it if they get more votes.
On air: Vera Bullock and Gloria Vance on BBN This MorningPublished
Photo: National Museum of American History · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBNWatch it as it aired: Vera Bullock and Gloria Vance on this story, from BBN This Morning at 9:21 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are CBS News's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by CBS News: “California's proposed billionaire tax: How does it add up?”
- Covered on BBN on Monday, October 19, 2026, at 9:21 AM ET on BBN This Morning, by Vera Bullock and Gloria Vance.
- Topics: California.
The real story
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What BBN said about it
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorCalifornia voters will decide Proposition Forty, a one-time five percent tax on about two hundred billionaires, which backers estimate would raise one hundred billion dollars over five years.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorAnd about ninety cents of every dollar would go to health care, so this is really a wellness story for the whole state.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorCBS News reports that Google co-founder Sergey Brin is spending more than one hundred million dollars to oppose it.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorMore than a hundred million? Against a five percent tax? Somebody did the math and then ignored it.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorOpponents also backed Propositions Forty-One and Forty-Two, and if either gets more votes than Forty, the wealth tax is effectively nullified.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI assume the opponents' pitch is, we didn't kill the tax, we gave voters options. Lots of options.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorUnion leader Dave Regan, asked about passage, said, quote, pretty confident.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorPretty confident. Which is what a hundred million dollars would also say, if it were on the other side.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorA hundred million dollars, Vera. That's a lot to spend on not being home when the bill comes. Rex?
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From the archive: everything BBN aired on Monday, October 19, 2026 · the Your Money archive · all months
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