What is your Top Concern: Income Tax, Estate Tax, or Wealth Tax?
Concerns about new and damaging wealth tax bills are growing in multiple states, including California, Washington, and Virginia. Here’s a quick roundup of the latest wealth tax news affecting family-owned businesses and successful families.
Campaign behind California’s wealth tax initiative reports collecting 25% of the required signatures to qualify for 2026 ballot – Ballotpedia News
SEIU-UHW’s wealth tax initiative has reached 25% of required signatures (874,641 needed) for the 2026 ballot. Competing initiatives by Building a Better California ($35M raised, including $20M from Sergey Brin) include prohibiting post-2026 tax exemptions from Prop. 98 education funding, banning new taxes on retirement/savings or retroactive levies, and requiring special tax recipients to cut low-performing programs. To qualify for the ballot in November, the deadline for signature verification is June 25.
Bill Would Block Proposed California Wealth Tax On Former Residents – Checkpoint News
U.S. Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) introduced the Keep Jobs in California Act, a federal bill that would prohibit any state from imposing a retroactive tax on the assets of individuals who no longer live in that state. In California, several new opposition initiatives have been filed to counter the wealth tax proposal, including the Budget Stability Act would raise the voter approval threshold to two-thirds for any new, one-time taxes.
The Push for 875,000 People to Help Get California Billionaire Tax on the Ballot – WSJ
The California’s SEIU-UHW union wealth tax ballot proposal needs 875,000 signatures by mid-April. Backed by figures like Bernie Sanders at rallies and polling at 62% support internally (though a rival poll shows 48%), the $25 million-funded campaign faces Gov. Gavin Newsom’s warnings of billionaire exodus, revenue drops projected by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, and opposition initiatives from tech moguls like Sergey Brin. Organizers have recruited nearly 5,100 volunteers and paid petition circulators to collect signatures. SEIU-UHW chief of staff Suzanne Jimenez stated that a billionaire tax emerged as the most popular idea among voters after testing various options, rooted in labor movement traditions but solidified into a concrete plan following President Trump’s OBBBA.
Check out our State Wealth Tax Tracker for more details
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The need for fact-based reporting of issues important to family owned businesses and protecting a lifetime of savings has never been greater. Now more than ever, successful families and family owned businesses are under fire. That's why Family Enterprise USA is passionately working to increase the awareness of issues important to family owned businesses built on hard work, while continuing to strengthen our presence on Capitol Hill. The issues we fight for or against with Congress in Washington DC include high income tax rates, possible elimination of valuation discounts, increase in capital gains tax, enactment of a wealth tax, and the continued burden of the gift tax, estate tax and generation skipping tax.
Family Enterprise USA promotes generationally owned family business creation, growth, viability, and sustainability by advocating for family businesses and their lifetime of savings with Congress in Washington DC. Since 2007, Family Enterprise USA has represented and celebrated all sizes, professions and industries of family-owned enterprises and multi-generational employers. It is a bi-partisan 501.c3 organization. Family foundations can donate.
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