Walters: Would California voters actually support a wealth tax on billionaires?

"Today, despite the limit on property taxes imposed by 1978's Proposition 13, levies on nearly $9 trillion in taxable real estate, generate about $98 billion in revenue each year. The money gets roughly split between school districts and local governments. Despite those massive numbers, real estate no longer dominates Californians' personal wealth, which now tops $30 trillion. About a third is residential real estate, with commercial real estate, investments, personal property and cash representing the rest."

"Voters may decide this year because a wealth tax initiative is being circulated by a union representing health care workers. It would impose a one-time 5% tax, mostly on their investments, that would raise an estimated $100 billion. It's needed, Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West contends, to shore up vital health care services threatened by reductions in federal subventions and the state budget's own deficits."

California historically taxed wealth through land and property and by the 1930s relied on property taxes to finance local services. Proposition 13 capped property taxes, yet taxes on nearly $9 trillion in taxable real estate still produce roughly $98 billion annually, divided between schools and local governments. Total personal wealth in California now exceeds $30 trillion, with about one-third in residential real estate and the remainder in commercial property, investments, personal property and cash. An estimated 200 billionaires hold about $2 trillion, roughly 7% of state wealth. A union-proposed one-time 5% wealth tax, focused on investments, aims to raise about $100 billion for health care amid federal reductions and state budget deficits, prompting philosophical, economic and political debate over taxing non-real-estate assets.

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