(The Center Square) – An appeal to the Washington State Supreme Court to allow a referendum effort on the new income tax law to proceed was denied on Monday.
The political group Let’s Go Washington initially filed a referendum request with the Secretary of State’s office, looking for the green light to begin gathering voter signatures to place a referendum on the ballot for voters to decide the fate of the state’s so-called “millionaire’s tax.”
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs rejected the measure, citing the fact state lawmakers attached a “necessity” to the bill, stating that despite the fact the tax doesn’t start until first payments begin in 2029, it is necessary for the immediate support of state government.
“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,” Hallie Balch with LGW told The Center Square.
“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,” she added.
“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,” said Balch.
“So it may not be all bad, even though it’s not an immediate win for us.”
In Monday’s public order denying the writ of mandamus, the court wrote:
“Consistent with the words of the constitution and our unbroken line of precedent, we hold that ESSB 6346 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.”
“Accordingly, a writ of mandamus may not issue because the Secretary of State has no mandatory, nondiscretionary duty to process the petitioners’ proposed referendum.”
Invest in WA Now, one of the main political groups behind the income tax celebrated the court’s rejection of LGW’s appeal.
“A study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) found that the “millionaire class” grew by 46.9% in Washington despite the state’s first ever capital gains tax,” the group said in a statement emailed to The Center Square.
“Their wealth grew by more than $748 billion in Washington state between 2022 and 2024. 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.”
