Mad dash to remove WA income tax makes a Tri-Cities pit stop
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Let’s Go Washington is collecting signatures to repeal Washington’s 9.9% income tax.
- The group has collected at least 165,000 signatures toward a 400,000 goal by July 2.
- If qualified, the measure would repeal the tax and bar future personal income taxes.
A bit of Tri-Cities wind and dust didn’t keep Dennis and Denyce Barrett home on Tuesday.
The Pasco couple said they had to play their part in helping to check the power of Gov. Bob Ferguson and Democratic majorities in the Legislature. So they loaded up the car and headed out to a “Super Signer” event hosted by Let’s Go Washington at the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities and Walla Walla.
The event attracted a steady trickle of concerned voters throughout the afternoon who signed onto a marquee petition — IP26-645— aimed at repealing the 9.9% state income tax on households that earn more than $1 million.
“Ferguson is going to ruin this state if he continues the way he is,” said Denyce Barrett, 71. “This is my little part of stopping something he’s doing.”
Let’s Go Washington, the group behind several conservative-leaning voter initiatives in recent years, is on a mad dash to gather 400,000 signatures by July 2 to turn over to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office. At least 165,000 have been collected so far, according to a report last week from the Washington State Standard.
If successful, voters would be asked on the Nov. 3 general election ballot if they would like to repeal the tax and prohibit state and local governments from imposing future taxes on personal income.
Signature gatherers are out at Tri-City businesses petitioning to “Stop The Income Tax,” including at both ACE Hardware and Sporting Goods stores in Richland, Griggs Department Store in Pasco, Indulgences Espresso and Delights in West Richland and at the Home Builders Association office.
They’ve also been around at area farmers markets and parks.
Democrats lauded passage of the tax to help the state rebalance its regressive tax code, where the wealthiest pay a far smaller percentage of their income than the non-wealthy. If it survives legal and political challenges, the tax could bring in $3.5 billion annually to pay tax refunds and credits, eliminate sales tax on certain medical and hygiene products and cover school lunches.
Two other Let’s Go Washington initiatives already will be on the November ballot after the Legislature declined to act on them earlier this year: IL26-638, which blocks transgender girls from participating in girls sports, and IL26-001, which aims to reform certain parental rights in public schools.
Voters find Legislature ‘quietly infuriating’
Dennis Barrett, 70, a Coast Guard veteran who comes from a military background, says it’s been “quietly infuriating” to watch the Legislature in recent years.
The couple, who described themselves as “MAGA people” — who have lived all over the Evergreen State — also signed to two other petitions that would allow state collaboration with federal immigration officials (IP26-720) and require a voter ID as a requisite to vote (IP26-500).
Voters who showed up Tuesday left with a small swag bag that included spare anti-income tax petitions to distribute to family members, neighbors and church members.
The Barretts said they’ll hand one off to their son who works at the Hanford nuclear site. Their senior residential park has about 80 homes, and Dennis Barrett says he’ll probably knock on about half of those to get more signatures.
“A lot of them I don’t even know, but I’ll still knock on the doors to see if I can get the 20 signatures on this thing. So, we’ll do our part to do this,” he said.
Several Republican Tri-City lawmakers who debated and fought against passage of the so-called “Millionaires Tax” in the statehouse showed up to support Tuesday’s signing event, including Sen. Nikki Torres and Reps. Mark Klicker, April Connors, and Stephanie Barnard.
Barnard said there is a serious concern that Washington is losing its competitive edge when it comes to incubating, attracting and retaining businesses. State leaders will have to ask some tough questions about the tax if wealth begins leaving the state in droves, she said.
“The whole theory is to tax the rich. Well, we’re not going to have any rich left to tax, and right now it feels as though we have a big sign in front of the state of Washington that says, ‘Closed for Business,’” she said.
