Washington State Politics

An Associated Press report details how Washington state lawmakers are moving a nearly 10 percent annual tax on personal earnings over $1 million toward the governor’s desk this week, part of a broader push in blue states to raise taxes on the ultra‑rich. The Washington House has passed the measure after an all‑night session, sending it back to the Democratic‑controlled Senate just days before adjournment; Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson has signaled he will sign it if it reaches him. Supporters, including House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, frame the bill as a way to fix what they call Washington’s "extremely regressive" tax system and say the new revenue would fund free K–12 school meals, expanded child‑care services, a family tax credit, and elimination of the sales tax on personal care items such as shampoo. Opponents, including Republican legislators and millionaire business owner Colin Hathaway, warn that layering this tax on top of the state’s new capital‑gains tax will treat reinvested business profits as personal income and could drive entrepreneurs and companies out of the state, setting up likely court challenges and a possible referendum. The story places Washington’s fight in the context of recent millionaire‑tax moves in Massachusetts, California, Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey, as progressive activists like Patriotic Millionaires argue online that rising inequality justifies higher top‑end taxes while business groups warn of capital flight and legal uncertainty.