Aimee Picchi at CBS News reports a proposed Billionaire Wealth Tax in California is sparking debate over whether the measure - if passed, would lead to more harm than good if ultrawealthy residents in the State flee to other locales. Under the proposed ballot initiative, California would institute a one-time tax of 5% on the State's estimated 255 billionaires. While wealth taxes aren't new, the proposal has sparked pushback from some of America's richest citizens and their allies, who claim it could drive the State's billionaires to leave the State and discourage entrepreneurs from creating businesses. By contrast, advocates of the tax emphasize billionaires' fortunes are growing much faster than the income of ordinary Americans. Omar Ocampo, a Researcher at the Left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies, told CBS News: "The billionaire class had their wealth nearly triple in the last six years and a one-time wealth tax will only put a (5%) constraint on their wealth accumulation. It will not significantly impact their lives, their consumption or spending habits." The tax is a proposed ballot measure created by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), which represents more than 120,000 Health Care Workers and patients in California.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: California could impose a billionaire tax. Here's how it would work.

And For Details On SEIU-UHW’s Proposed Ballot Measure, Go To: California Billionaire Tax Act - SEIU UHW