California billionaire tax defeated, CNN and CBS project

California voters have rejected a one-time tax on billionaires, CNN and CBS News projected Monday, nearly a week after the state's midterm ballots were cast.

Proposition 40 would have imposed a 5% tax on the total net worth of about 200 billionaires in California. Supporters said much of the money would have gone toward healthcare and estimated that the tax could raise about $100 billion.

The measure had appeared headed for defeat last week, when about 60% of votes counted on Wednesday showed the “No” side leading by 55.6% to 44.4%.

Opponents, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, raised hundreds of millions of dollars to oppose the measure and argued it would push wealthy people to leave California. Outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom had said he would vote no.

The proposal was one of several measures on California ballots during last week's midterm elections. California had previously voted three times this decade on a wealth tax and rejected it each time.