California Prohibit Taxes on Retirement Holdings and Personal Savings Amendment (2026)
| California Prohibit Taxes on Retirement Holdings and Personal Savings Amendment | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Income taxes |
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| Status Cleared for signature gathering |
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| Type Initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
The California Prohibit Taxes on Retirement Holdings and Personal Savings Amendment (#25-0041) may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
The initiative would amend the California Constitution to prohibit the enactment of new taxes after January 1, 2026, on ownership or accumulation of retirement holdings, individually-owned assets, and other forms of personal savings. The amendment would also prohibit enacting retroactive taxes that result in a tax liability based on activities that occurred or were present prior to the effective date of the tax.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title is as follows:[3]
| “ | Prohibits new state personal property taxes and certain retroactive state taxes. Initiative constitutional amendment.[4] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets is as follows:[3]
| “ | Prohibits any new state tax that either (1) taxes the ownership or control of personal property (including retirement accounts, financial assets, investment accounts, business interests, and intellectual property), or (2) applies retroactively based on the taxpayer’s conduct, activities, or a status that occurred before the new tax’s effective date, with limited exceptions. Applies to taxes that are enacted or take effect on or after January 1, 2026, including taxes that appear on the same ballot as this measure.[4] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Sponsors
Building a Better California is sponsoring the initiative campaign.[5]
Path to the ballot
Process in California
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.
The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 874,641 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification is June 25, 2026. However, the secretary of state suggested deadlines for turning in signatures of January 12, 2026, for initiatives needing a full check of signatures and April 17, 2026, for initiatives needing a random sample of signatures verified.
Stages of this ballot initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:[2]
- December 8, 2025: The initiative was filed by Kurt R. Oneto.
- February 11, 2026: The initiative was cleared for signature gathering.
See also
View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in California.
Explore California's ballot measure history, including citizen-initiated ballot measures.
Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General's Office, "Full text," accessed December 10, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 California Secretary of State's Office, "List of petitions," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed January 24, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Sergey Brin-Backed Group Tries to Undercut California’s Billionaire Tax Proposal," February 17, 2026
