California voters have voted to reject a wealth tax on its billionaires. The ballot proposal would have levied a one-time tax on the state's mega wealthy to help fund healthcare. It took nearly a week of counting votes after the midterm election to determine a projection on the measure. There are about 200 billionaires in the state, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, reality television star Kim Kardashian and media mogul Oprah Winfrey. Proposition 40 targeted Californians with a wealth of more than $1.1bn (£800m) with a 5% tax on their total wealth, including assets such as shares as well as income.

Tax thresholds remain unchanged - here's what it means for your pay Income tax thresholds, which have been frozen under successive chancellors, will stay at current levels until April 2031 as planned. But after that they are expected to start to rise again with inflation. John Healey may not have mentioned the end of this policy in his Budget speech - after all, it is still some way off - but according to the documents released by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) the freeze, which has been shaving additional tax off people's take-home pay for the past five years, is scheduled to end. The proportion of your income that is taken in tax will continue to go up over the next four years in line with decisions made in previous Budgets. But then the personal allowance - the point at which you start to pay tax - and other thresholds, where you tip into paying a higher rate of tax, will rise again with inflation, meaning you keep more of what you earn.

Families facing cost-of-living pressures are being offered some help, or breathing space as Chancellor John Healey is calling it. The help comes as prices are rising faster than expected with annual energy bills in particular likely to increase by around £300 or more in January. If you are living in a home in council tax bands A to D in England, you will receive a one-off £100 Household Energy Payment from January, funded by extra tax on banks. It will be paid directly into your bank account. You can find your council tax band by looking on your annual bill, or by looking on the government's website, external - although that was struggling to cope with traffic after the announcement.

Tax on banks, energy bill help and minimum wage rise - what could be in the Budget? Chancellor John Healey will set out Labour's tax and spending plans when he delivers his first Budget at around 12:30 on Wednesday. The speech, which usually lasts about an hour, will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and on the BBC News website. He and Prime Minister Andy Burnham are hoping to give households breathing space amid the ongoing high cost of living. But Healey has also refused to rule out some tax increases to potentially pay for support he could distribute elsewhere.

'I'm a single mum on £41,000 and limit my weekly shop to £40.' What do you want from the Budget? Chancellor John Healey is set to unveil his first Budget on Wednesday. Unlike in previous years there have been very few leaks about what will be in it, though Healey's tax and spending plans will be under close scrutiny at a time when government borrowing costs are at historic highs. BBC News has been speaking to people on a range of incomes on how they feel about their finances and what they would like to see in the Budget. If there are issues you would like to see covered, you can get in touch via BBC Your Voice .

Healey vows cheaper marmalade and gherkins in pre-Budget package of'everyday fixes' John Healey will remove import taxes on marmalade, gherkins and more than 100 products in a bid to give families breathing space with the cost of living at the Budget . The chancellor on Wednesday will promise a fresh series of everyday fixes to ease the pressure on households. The measures will also include an end to the so-called cliff-edge for those receiving carer's allowance payments and higher tax-free mileage rates being made permanent. But the Conservatives said the offer of cheaper gherkins was an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises. Ahead of the Budget, the government said it is removing tariffs on more than 100 family favourite products, while supporting farmers facing higher fertiliser costs and households reliant on heating oil.

Senior banking executives have told the BBC they expect the sector to be on the menu when the chancellor announces his Budget in two weeks' time. John Healey has described the banks as part of the crown jewels of the UK economy, yet has refused to rule out a raid on the sector. The biggest four banks collectively made around £15bn profit in the first six months of this year, leading to calls from trade unions and others for additional taxes. However, the banking sector trade body, UK Finance, warned that further increases in bank taxes would weaken competitiveness, discourage investment and job creation, and work against the government's ambition to deliver growth in every postcode. What is the Budget and what could be in it?

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, data center projects in rural areas could be eligible for major tax benefits starting next year. Some hyperscalers do not seem eager to take the free cash. Welcome back to Power Play! Each week, senior writer Molly Taft tackles a topic around this midterm season's biggest issue: data centers. If you've got a question or thought for the column, feel free to shoot Molly an email at [email protected] or reach them securely on Signal at mollytaft.76.

The Liberal Democrats will fight the next general election on a promise to cut taxes for millions of workers, Sir Ed Davey has said in a speech to his party conference. The Lib Dem leader said that if he gained power, he would raise the annual tax-free personal allowance to £15,000. He would also raise the 40p income tax threshold from £50,270 to £56,000, in a £17bn package funded by the economic boost he says would come from the UK rejoining the EU single market and customs union. He claimed the plan would mean a £680 cut for most taxpayers but it would not come into full effect until the fifth year of a Lib Dem government - potentially up to eight years away. The announcement was greeted with sustained applause by Lib Dem MPs and activists in the Brighton conference centre.

Unions who donate to Labour will meet John Healey on Thursday to press home their demands ahead of next month's Budget. Unite, the UK's second biggest union, has called for a reversal of the freezing of tax thresholds, that see the lowest paid drawn into paying tax. The union's leader, Sharon Graham, said she told Andy Burnham that the cut to the winter fuel allowance, carried out under former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, was a disgrace, adding: What to you need to do is winter fuel in reverse - something that says to everyday people I am on your side. The call is one of a number of policy proposals unions are taking to the chancellor, including increased taxes on tech companies. Unions say they believe Healey's first budget will define Andy Burnham's direction of travel as prime minister.