Billionaires "revengements" -- three initiatives vying for the California ballot

[Auggie]

San Francisco Chronicle / April 22, 2026

“Revengements” is short for revenge amendments. It was coined by a UC Davis law school professor.

The "revengements" are three ballot initiatives designed to weaken or block California’s proposed billionaire tax.

Who's behind them? The PAC, "Building a Better California." Since January it has been funded with $79 million from billionaires including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, venture capitalist Michael Moritz, Doordash CEO Tony Xu, Affirm CEO Maksim Levchin, Ripple Executive Chairman Chris Larsen and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

None of the three initiatives have collected enough signatures to quality on the ballot. I was approached the other day outside of my Raley's to sign but I declined, simply because I hadn't heard of them or was aware of their intent.

But they sure sound good:

• “Retirement and Personal Savings Protection Act" -- the immediate winners, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, would be the wealthiest Californians — those who would have to pay the billionaire tax.

• "Protect Schools and Taxpayers Act" -- this could redirect a big portion of the billionaire tax revenue to schools and possibly tax refunds.

SF Chronicle: California law, under voter-approved Proposition 98, guarantees that a significant portion of general fund revenue goes to K-12 schools and community colleges. If the Legislature or a voter initiative raises taxes that go into the general fund, that same portion must go to schools. If they raise taxes that go into a special fund, however, that money is not subject to Prop 98 requirements.

Another law, Proposition 4, capped how much state and local governments can spend from tax revenues. If tax revenues surpass that cap, often called the Gann limit, over two years, the excess generally must go to schools and taxpayer refunds. In 2022, California issued $9.5 billion in Better for Families/Middle-Class taxpayer refunds to avoid exceeding the limit.

Some voter-approved special taxes for a specific purpose can bypass the Gann limit if structured properly. The proposed billionaire tax is designed to be exempt from both Proposition 98 and the Gann limit.

The Protect Schools and Taxpayers measure, however, says that any new tax enacted after Jan. 1, 2026, must be subject to those two requirements and cannot be exempt.

• "Improving Transparency, Effectiveness, and Efficiency in California Government Act" -- applies to special taxes, such as ones that go to a specific purpose such as health care or homelessness.

SF Chronicle: It would require the state auditor to conduct a detailed review of any proposed special tax before it reaches the ballot. For any special taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026, it also would have to conduct a “financial and performance audit” of any program that receives money from the tax every four years. But “hidden in there” is another provision that would prohibit any state tax enacted on or after Jan. 6 from being exempt from the state spending (Gann) limit.

Full article at the link (paywall): https://eedition.sfchronicle.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=2d224f27-77b7-4a06-a072-2134a7df356b&


According to the link, the PAC is sending texts, letters, and probably direct mail with "URGENT" messaging that reads "Even though California has some of the highest taxes in the country, Sacramento politicians and special interests are still pushing to pass new taxes on retirement and savings accounts."

The truth is California has not attempted to tax the value of savings or retirement assets for all state residents.

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Don't sign any ballot initiatives unless you know who's behind it, no matter how good it sounds.

And keep an eye out for "Building a Better California." They're the bad guys.