A proposal to levy a one-off tax on billionaires in California appeared to be headed for defeat Wednesday in a vote being watched around the world at a time of growing anger over wealth disparity.
So-called Proposition 40 would force around 200 billionaires in the state to cough up five percent of their their total net worth, with the money largely dedicated to helping pay for healthcare.
But with about 60 percent of votes counted, “No” was leading by 55.6 percent to 44.4 percent, data showed.
An analysis by the San Francisco Chronicle looking at how the outstanding votes were expected to fall determined the result was unlikely to change.