California voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on roughly 200 billionaires to help offset federal health care cuts. But the state's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office says it is hard to predict how much Proposition 40 would raise and when the money would arrive.
The analyst's official review of Proposition 40 estimates the state probably would collect "tens of billions of dollars"spread over several years. Backers say it could raise up to $100 billion over five years. The analyst also warns of a possible ongoing loss of less than $1 billion a year in state income taxes if billionaires leave California or reduce their state income tax payments.
