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Aug. 14, 2026

Unpacking the Billionaire Tax: Episode 5

If Proposition 40 passes and faces legal challenges, a specific timeline kicks in -- Howard Miller and tax attorney Robert Wood walk through the court process and payment deadlines that could follow.



Proposition 40, headed for the November ballot, is known for one number: a 5% tax on Californians worth more than a billion dollars. But the initiative runs 31 pages, and most of it never makes the headlines.

In the final episode of Unpacking the Billionaire Tax, host Howard Miller and tax attorney Robert Wood lay out what would happen if Proposition 40 passes: a compressed litigation timeline that sends legal challenges from Sacramento Superior Court to the California Supreme Court within a year, a one-time extension pushing the tax payment deadline to Oct. 15, 2027, and a quirk in the election calendar that could have some voters casting ballots before the full text of the initiative is available in print.

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