Texas Votes to Outlaw Additional Taxes on Wealthy Residents

Texas voters made clear Tuesday the state won’t levy a tax on high-net-worth residents, approving a ballot measure denying the state Legislature the option of imposing a wealth tax.

The ballot question (Proposition 3) updates the state constitution by outlawing something that’s been floated in at least eight states—unsuccessfully, so far—but not in the famously anti-tax Lone Star State. (Massachusetts voters last year approved a new tax bracket on incomes over $1 million.)

Supporters pitched it as a way to keep up Texas’ business-friendly appearance, though it was also called an attempt at “burning bridges before you get ...