Billionaires Tax Supporters Up in California By Nearly 2-to-1, Poll Shows

Voters in California are supporting a proposed wealth tax on billionaires in their state by a ratio of almost 2-to-1, according to a poll conducted by the Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research.

Politico, which commissioned the poll from the center at the University of California, Berkeley, reported on Tuesday that support for the billionaire tax is currently at 50% of California voters, while just 28% registered opposition.

However, University of California Berkeley political scientist Jack Citrin told Politico that the measure's passage isn't yet a slam dunk because voters remain vulnerable to counterarguments against the plan, which would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' total wealth.

"The yes side has the current lead and you have some strong supporters, so that’s the good news," Citrin explained. "Most experts on the initiative process say that the yes side has an advantage to start with because no one’s been talking about it and it sounds like a good idea... but then once the campaign begins you whittle away at that."

Among other things, the poll found voters were concerned about whether the wealth tax would really be a one-time measure, whether it would push wealthy individuals out of the state, and whether the middle class would be forced to pay more in taxes to make up for the potentially departed billionaires.

Citrin told Politico that supporters of the wealth tax will have to convince voters that billionaires' threats to leave California if the measure passes are a bluff.

"If you’re the yes side you have to hammer away at: this isn’t true, they’re not going to leave, it’s just scare tactics," Citrin said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who along with other progressives has championed the wealth tax, hailed the UC Berkeley poll as a sign that the political tide is turning against US oligarchs.

"A new poll shows voters overwhelmingly support California’s proposal to tax billionaire wealth to fund healthcare—by nearly a 2-to-1 margin," Sanders wrote in a social media post. "The American people are sick and tired of massive income and wealth inequality. Billionaires need to start paying their fair share."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, has gone on the record opposing the wealth tax and has said he will campaign for its defeat.