Opponents Of Proposed California Wealth Tax Ramp Up Their Campaign

Opponents of California’s proposed wealth tax are turning to the same tool as its champion: the ballot initiative.

A multi-pronged campaign to undercut the proposed one-time, 5 percent levy took a significant step forward Tuesday, when rival ballot initiatives rolled out veteran staffers and secured support from a ballot committee bankrolled by some of California's wealthiest residents.

The trio of ballot measures are designed to undercut the billionaire’s tax, such as by invalidating new taxes that apply retroactively or do not adhere to California laws limiting spending or reserving money for schools — prohibitions that would apply to the wealth tax.

In an indication of their resources and seriousness, they’ve all hired seasoned campaign staffers, and : two of the campaigns are already paying $12 per signature — a significant sum in California’s ballot wars — as they dash toward an April deadline to collect signatures.

That could be enormously expensive. But they’ll have backup: a ballot measure committee bankrolled by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and other wealthy industrial titans announced it would support the three measures. While a spokesperson declined to specify how large of a contribution they’d make, the committee has already raised $35 million.

“California is the world’s fourth-largest economy and a global center of innovation,” spokesperson Abby Lunardini said in a statement. “Yet, for decades, it has become increasingly hard for working families and businesses to live, grow, and thrive here. Between skyrocketing costs, a housing crisis, and some of the country's highest taxes — with less and less to show for it, the California dream is drifting out of reach for many.”

Short term, having these measures on the street and paying top dollar for signatures could push up prices for everyone else — including the wealth tax measure, which has yet to qualify.

Longer term, these measures could compete directly with the wealth tax in multiple ways. Their supporters can spend unlimited money to saturate the airwaves with a message that doubles as a rebuke of the wealth tax. And they’re written to push the wealth tax into legal peril even if it passes, assuming they prevail as well.

The ballot measure strategy adds another layer to a complex and multi-front opposition landscape that has drawn in both deep-pocketed donors and prominent Democrats like Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has vowed to stop the proposed tax.

Cryptocurrency mogul Chris Larsen seeded a new committee opposed to the wealth tax with $5 million, according to a Tuesday filing — a donation that comes on top of the $2 million Larsen had already channeled to the committee largely spearheaded by Brin.

Another opposition committee staffed by consultants with longstanding ties to Newsom is preparing to run digital advertisements spotlighting how Newsom and other Democrats, including prominent candidates for governor, have come out against the tax.