Voters in Washington state will soon decide the fate of the state’s so-called “millionaire tax” – a 9.9% income tax on earnings above $1m that was signed into law in March and is now facing a conservative-backed effort to repeal it.
An initiative on November’s ballot aims to overturn the tax, claiming that the tax represents a slippery slope, and would eventually result in taxes for more than just millionaires. A coalition of advocacy groups and unions opposing the initiative say taxing the state’s 20,000 highest-earning households could raise approximately $3.5bn in necessary annual revenue to fund core priorities like education and healthcare, and expand tax credits and sales tax exemptions.
