Washington Supreme Court Says No to Millionaires Tax Ballot Bid

Washington’s 9.9% millionaires tax that starts in 2028 is being fought on a number of levels. The first salvo was an appeal to the Washington State Supreme Court. The political group, Let’s Go Washington asked the court to allow them to gather signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot.

The court said no.

“Consistent with the words of the constitution and our unbroken line of precedent, we hold that ESSB 6346 (the millionaires tax) falls within the exception for laws that are 'necessary for the . . . support of the state government' and not subject to referendum under article II, section 1,” the court said, “Accordingly, a writ of mandamus may not issue because the Secretary of State has no mandatory, nondiscretionary duty to process the petitioners’ proposed referendum.”

Hallie Balch of Let’s Go Washington expressed disappointment.

“We were certainly hoping that the Supreme Court would rule on the side of the people and the Constitution, but they are citing precedent and that is something we considered,” Balch said. “The referendum is not happening, so now we’re just exploring other options as to whether we do an initiative to the people or the Legislature, and whether we do it this year or next.”

That is the biggest question facing the group now.

"We know that it can be done and we know people are really upset by this," Balch said. "So that energizes people and mobilizes them to an even greater degree. So we're still deciding what will be the best outcome.”

Balch also found some optimism in the court’s ruling and noted not everything in the decision is bad news.

“We’re actually energized a little bit by the fact that they upheld precedent because that may mean that they uphold precedent for the fact that income can’t be taxed in Washington state when that case is heard,” Balch said. “So it may not be all bad, even though it’s not an immediate win for us.”

Invest in WA Now is one of the political groups supporting the idea of taxing millionaires. It noted a poll by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) found the state’s millionaire class grew by 46.9% even though Washington now has a capital gains tax.

“Their wealth grew by more than $748 billion in Washington state between 2022 and 2024,” the group said in a statement. “Polling shows Washingtonians overwhelmingly support fixing Washington’s upside down tax code, with 60% supporting the Millionaire's Tax to fund education and health care.”

Washington Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad also liked the court’s decision.

“We’re really proud of the governor and majority Democrats for getting this tax passed,” she said. “It’s something we’ve asked about for, for decades. There’s been so much work done to fix our regressive tax system, so it’s really nice to see some movement.”

Washington’s Republican Chair Jim Walsh isn’t surprised by the ruling.

“It’s driven by politics, not the law,” he said. “The judges currently on the State Supreme Court should stop playing politics and take a lesson from their colleague in Thurston County Superior Court who actually applied the Constitution and statutory law to the awful anti-sheriff bill in a lawful way.”

Source link: The Center Square — https://bit.ly/4uAzQpr