(The Center Square) – Hundreds of people lined up Friday afternoon outside a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee at the state capitol in Olympia for a chance to testify on a proposed income tax bill introduced by majority party Democrats earlier this week.
Others were there to hear what proponents and opponents of Senate Bill 6346, a 9.9% tax on income over $1 million, had to say at the 1:30 p.m. hearing.
According to the bill summary, it:
Dedicates 5% of revenues to county public defense services.Expands eligibility for the Working Families Tax Credit.Doubles the business and occupation tax credit for small businesses.Provides a sales and use tax exemption for grooming and hygiene products.Expires a B&O surcharge on businesses with gross income in excess of $250 million a year earlier.
Ahead of the hearing, more than 61,000 people had signed in against the bill, making it the “most unpopular bill in state history,” according to a social media post from Senate Republicans.
Dozens of people testified on both sides of the “millionaire’s tax.”
Among those testifying against the bill was Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood, who opened by saying he would be subject to the income tax.
“It would hit me personally, but like many in my position, I’ve got options. I can change my domicile, I can move my business, and I can restructure my income to avoid it,” he said. “In just the past two weeks, I’ve heard directly from or heard about 50 couples who are already in the process of, or soon to be changing, their domicile, out of this state, including one that you’ve heard of, one of the loudest Democrats in Washington state Nick Hanauer. He’s changing his domicile.”
Hanauer is a Seattle-based venture capitalist,
Rian Lott, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute, testified in support of SB 6346.
“If I made a million dollars a year, and I’m sorry to say that I do not, then today, Feb. 6, 36 days into the new year, I would have already made $98,000 this year,” said Lott, who told committee members that the top income earners pay far less of their “fair share” of taxes than lower and middle income earners.
Anti-tax activist Tim Eyman, wearing several anti-income tax stickers on his suit jacket, didn’t hold back.
“The most obscene thing about this bill is it takes money away from people who earned it and gives it to people who didn’t earn it,” he said. “This is the jealousy bill, the envy bill, the covet bill. Eleven times, voters have said they do not want an income tax. Also obscene is the secret pact between the Democrats and the business community in exchange for not imposing a payroll tax.”
He was referring to the fact that some business advocacy groups, including the Washington Roundtable and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, issued a statement after the bill was introduced, stating they are not taking a position on the measure at this time.
“We need to see more of the business community’s concerns addressed and priority provisions included,” Washington Roundtable President Rachel Smith previously told The Center Square. “That will be our expectation if the Legislature’s going to advance a proposal of this magnitude. This is extremely consequential for Washington state.”
Committee Chair June Robinson, D-Everett, who had initially scheduled the public hearing to last only one hour, extended the hearing to two hours, given public interest in the bill and pressure from Republicans, including Minority Leader Sen. John Braun of Centralia, who earlier Friday had been told the hearing would not be granted extended time.
At the time the hearing began, 61,359 people had signed in “con” on the legislation, with 19,164 signed in ”pro.”
Attempts to update those totals later Friday were unsuccessful because the legislative website crashed, as it did on Thursday, likely due to intense interest in the bill.
No executive action was taken on the bill, but that is expected at any time.
