{"text":[[{"start":7.8,"text":"Californian billionaires have poured nearly $40mn in fresh money into the campaign against a proposed wealth tax that will be on the state’s ballot this November. "}],[{"start":17.8,"text":"Chris Larsen, executive chair of blockchain company Ripple, contributed an additional $10mn to Building a Better California, a group created to oppose Proposition 40, which would impose a one-time 5 per cent tax on the wealth of Californians with more than $1bn in covered assets."}],[{"start":37.35,"text":"Venture capitalist John Doerr contributed an additional $7.5mn to the committee, while investor John Hering gave $946,000 and Greenoaks Capital founder Neil Mehta contributed $250,000, according to a campaign finance filing dated August 14."}],[{"start":56.2,"text":"Building a Better California also reported giving $5mn each to the campaign opposing Proposition 40 and to campaigns supporting Propositions 41 and 42, two rival measures which would nullify the wealth tax proposal through new restrictions on state taxation and spending."}],[{"start":74.5,"text":"The spending follows Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s contribution of an additional $20mn to Building a Better California two weeks earlier, pushing his total contribution to the group over $100mn. "}],[{"start":88.85,"text":"The latest donations add to an extraordinary war chest. Building a Better California had raised more than $110mn from around a dozen donors by late June, before Brin’s latest $20mn contribution and the new donations disclosed this week."}],[{"start":105.3,"text":"Proposition 40, backed by healthcare workers’ union SEIU-UHW, would levy the one-time tax on billionaires who were California residents on January 1. The measure would direct 90 per cent of the proceeds to healthcare and the remaining 10 per cent to education and food assistance, with supporters estimating it could raise about $100bn."}],[{"start":125.35,"text":"Brin moved to Nevada in late 2025 ahead of the January 1 residency cut-off. If the measure passes, wealthy people who say they left California before that date could face scrutiny from state tax authorities over whether they had genuinely changed their residence."}],[{"start":142.6,"text":"The measure has divided California Democrats and organised labour. The state Democratic Party endorsed Proposition 40 this month, while Democratic governor Gavin Newsom remains opposed, warning that the levy could drive wealthy residents from California and weaken the state’s tax base."}],[{"start":167.75,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1786931814_4074.mp3"}