Washington’s Wealth Tax on the ballot makes national news!
+ Opportunity Institute: The Washington state millionaires tax is a 9.9% tax on household income exceeding $1 million per year, set to take effect on January 1, 2028, with the first payments due in 2029. This tax aims to generate revenue for public services and support low- and middle-income families
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Washington state’s 9.9% millionaire tax heads for vote
Excerpt from Newsmax via MSN:
Washington state voters will decide in November whether to repeal a new 9.9% income tax on earnings above $1 million, setting up a major ballot fight over taxes, government spending, and the state’s business climate, The New York Times reported.
The tax, signed into law by Democrat Gov. Bob Ferguson in March, is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2028. It imposes a 9.9% levy on Washington taxable income above a $1 million deduction for individuals and married couples filing jointly.
Initiative 26-645, certified for the Nov. 3 ballot, would repeal the tax before it takes effect and prohibit state and local governments from imposing taxes on individual income in the future.
The measure has turned Washington — one of the few states without an individual income tax — into a battleground over whether taxing high earners will provide needed revenue or drive wealthy residents and businesses elsewhere.
“The goal is to put an income tax on every Washingtonian,” former Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler said at a recent news conference supporting repeal, according to the Times. “Don’t let them fool you.”
Supporters of the tax argue Washington’s heavy reliance on sales and property taxes puts a disproportionate burden on lower-income residents.
The Democrat-controlled Legislature paired the millionaires tax with other changes, including an expanded Working Families Tax Credit, a larger small-business tax credit, and eventual sales tax exemptions for diapers, grooming, and hygiene products and over-the-counter drugs.
Ferguson has argued that the law will make Washington’s tax system fairer while providing relief to families and small businesses. His office says less than half of 1% of Washington residents will pay the tax.
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If voters repeal it, the state would lose anticipated revenue for future budgets, potentially requiring lawmakers to reconsider spending, other revenue, or tax-relief provisions tied to the law.
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