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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Dara Kerr

The ultra-rich are spending one million dollars a day fighting California’s proposed billionaire tax

graphic of Gavin Newsom and Bernie Sanders speaking to crowd
‘A few controversial billionaires like Sergey Brin would rather spend millions … than simply pay their fair share in taxes so millions of their fellow Californians don’t lose their healthcare.’ Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

Tech billionaires have been dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the fight against a wealth tax in California. They’ve raised more than $340m, and the campaign they’re funding is spending more than $1m a day to defeat the measure, according to state financial disclosures.

With the election less than a month away, those funds are being spent at a stepped-up pace. During the first 19 days of September, according to the most recent campaign filings, the opposition campaign plowed through at least $21.2m to fight the billionaire tax – surpassing $1m per day. Voters are being inundated with robotexts, mailers and advertisements that warn a tax on billionaires would “expose all Californians to higher taxes”, as one ad reads.

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