Opponents of California's Proposition 40 have raised more than $340 million to defeat the measure, according to state financial disclosures cited by The Guardian. The campaign spends over $1 million daily on the effort.
Proposition 40 proposes a one-time 5% wealth tax to fund healthcare and education. Tech billionaires lead the opposition funding.
During the first 19 days of September, the opposition campaign spent at least $21.2 million, exceeding $1 million per day. The accelerated spending occurs with the election less than a month away.
The opposition campaign funds robotexts, mailers and advertisements. One advertisement warns that a tax on billionaires would "expose all Californians to higher taxes".
The scale of spending reflects the stakes for wealthy Californians. A one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth would generate revenue for two named priorities: healthcare and education. The opposition framing, however, extends the argument beyond billionaires themselves, claiming broader tax risks for other income groups.
No figures for pro-tax campaign spending appear in the supplied material. The financial disclosures track only the opposition side of this measure.