A bill approved by the state Senate Monday to force an income tax on the state of Washington without a public vote is a betrayal of the people of Washington, says Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview.
Senate Bill 6346, approved 27-22, ignores the longstanding opposition of the people of Washington and a 92-year tradition of public votes against the income tax. This time frustrated tax advocates aren’t asking, and they are hoping for a court ruling that would eliminate the need for voter approval. The bill, sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Jamie Pedersen, is the culmination of 15 years of effort by Democrats and interest groups to shift the battle from the ballot to the courts.
The measure now moves to the House for further consideration.
“The people have spoken but my colleagues are tired of listening,” Wilson said Tuesday. “They have their fingers in their ears, and they are saying ‘la-la-la, I can’t hear you.’”
Washington voters have rejected the income tax every time it has appeared on the ballot since 1934, most recently in 2010. The income tax remains as unpopular as ever. Two years ago, Washington voters forwarded an initiative to the Legislature banning all income taxes, I-2111, which Democratic legislators approved but are amending with this legislation. This month more than 61,000 people signed on to the Legislature’s website to express their opposition to the income tax when it came up for a committee hearing, a new record.
Under the proposal, sponsors hope to raise $4 billion annually, launching the income tax in 2028 with the first payments coming due in 2029. The measure establishes a tax rate of 9.9 percent, with a deduction for the first $1 million of income. Small business owners who report their business income on their personal taxes would face the same liability as high earners. And because the measure grants the same $1 million deduction to individuals and married couples, it contains a “marriage penalty,” something largely alleviated on the federal level.
“If you think this tax is only going to be on millionaires, you need to look at the history of income taxes at the state and national levels,” Wilson said. “They always start by targeting the rich because it’s easier to pass a tax when it looks like someone else will be gored. But it’s only a matter of time before this tax is expanded to people like you and me. It’ll happen next time the economy has a hiccup, or when too many wealthy people move away. Two years, maybe. Five years, almost certainly.”
Under current law in Washington state, a graduated income tax is both illegal and unconstitutional. The Washington Supreme Court ruled in 1933 that income is property and therefore is subject to constitutional restrictions on property taxes. That means an income tax must apply uniformly to everyone in the state and that the rate cannot exceed 1 percent. To pass a graduated income tax or an income tax with a higher rate, the court ruled that a constitutional amendment would be required.
By passing an income tax without a constitutional amendment, advocates are counting on a court challenge and a reversal from today’s more-liberal state Supreme Court. Wilson said he hopes the bill will be stopped in the House before matters reach that point.
“They aren’t listening to the people, and they aren’t listening to the constitution,” Wilson said. They’ve passed an unconstitutional law in the hope that the court will find it constitutional. And they are making it clear that they are more interested in fighting the people of Washington than in representing them.”