Opinion: Income Tax Battle Round Two – Signatures needed

Let's Go Washington needs 300,000+ signatures in under two months to put IP26-645 on the fall ballot. — Let’s Go Washington needs 300,000+ signatures in under two months to put IP26-645 on the fall ballot.

🎧 IP26-645: The Push to Kill Washington’s Income Tax

Let’s Go Washington launches initiative to repeal the new state income tax

Nancy Churchill
Dangerous Rhetoric

Income tax foes formally launched an initiative effort last week to pursue repeal of the new “millionnaires tax” on the fall ballot. To qualify, they’ll need to gather more than 300,000 signatures in less than two months.

Nancy Churchill

Legislators thought the income tax fight was over. It’s just beginning.

The Supreme Court’s blank check for tax increases

Earlier this year, Democrats in Olympia passed the 9.9% tax on income over $1 million and cynically used an emergency clause to shield it from a referendum.

Last week, the Washington State Supreme Court rejected Let’s Go Washington’s effort to run a referendum on the new state income tax. With this ruling, the Supreme Court handed lawmakers a permanent green light to hike taxes whenever they feel like it — without ever asking the people who actually pay the bills. That completely undermined the power of the people’s referendum. That’s not democracy — that’s taxation by judicial fiat. “Tea Parties” were started over situations exactly like this.

In response, Let’s Go Washington has launched a new initiative to repeal the tax and return power to the people.

The architect and the real agenda

The chief architect of this scheme, Sen. Jamie Pedersen, fought tooth and nail to block the earlier referendum effort. He even communicated openly with the Attorney General’s Office about how to get the Washington Supreme Court to reconsider longstanding income-tax precedent and sidestep voters to pass his unconstitutional tax.

Make no mistake: this was never about soaking the rich. It was always a legal test case designed to open the door to a broader statewide income tax, without the need to go through the messy process of a constitutional amendment.

What the stop the income tax initiative actually does

Now Let’s Go Washington is fighting back with Initiative to the People 26-645 — YES ON IP26-645: STOP THE INCOME TAX. The ballot measure summary is crystal clear: “This measure would repeal a 9.9% tax on annual individual income over $1,000,000; prohibit state and local governments from imposing taxes on individual income or the receipt of individual income and taxes measured by an individual’s income; and define income as ‘any gain or benefit measured in money derived from an individual’s capital, labor, property, or other source.’ It would also define ‘individual’ as a natural person for purposes of excise taxes.”

In plain English, it kills the new tax dead and slams the door shut on any future income tax — state or local — forever. No more creative definitions. No more loopholes. No more pretending this is just about “millionaires.”

Why this tax threatens all Washingtonians

That’s exactly why we need this initiative. The income tax is not just a tax on “the rich”; it is a legal test case designed to open the door to a broader statewide income tax. Democrats rejected Republican amendments designed to put guardrails in the income tax to prevent the threshold from dropping lower than on people who earn $1 million.

That means this is a tax that is coming for all Washingtonians. It’s just a matter of time. And the more businesses and families flee “High Tax Washington,” the quicker the tax will be applied to the rest of us.

Who really pays? Not the mega-corporations

Look at who actually gets hit. The tax is imposed on individuals, not on the largest and wealthiest corporations. Microsoft, Amazon, and the rest of the mega-corporations that dominate our state economy are left untouched, while pass-through business owners, entrepreneurs, households with one-time income events, start-ups, family businesses, and farms get hammered.

Interestingly, the tax on “millionaires” leaves out the state’s largest companies while levying an additional burden on exactly the people who create jobs and drive innovation in Washington.

This isn’t theoretical. The tax has already accelerated capital flight by encouraging high earners, founders, investors, and retirees to relocate before the tax begins in 2028. People aren’t stupid. They see the writing on the wall and they’re voting with their feet — and their wallets. Once politicians create an income tax, they rarely stop at taxing only “the rich,” as leaked emails from Sen. Pedersen all but confirm.

A spending problem, not a revenue problem

History proves it. States with income taxes almost always face pressure for higher rates and expanded taxation over time. Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem — it has a spending problem, as state spending has more than tripled over the last decade.

This new tax simply gives Olympia more ammunition to keep the spending spree going while shifting the burden onto working families, small businesses, savings, and retirement income down the road.

The clock is ticking – time to act

The timeline to qualify this initiative is extremely short, which means signature gathering has begun already. More than 300,000 signatures in less than two months is no small task, but Washington voters have shown time and again they’re ready to defend their pocketbooks when politicians overreach.

Head to LetsGoWashington.com right now and look for signing locations near you! Every signature counts. Every conversation with a neighbor counts. This is how we fight against unjust and unconstitutional taxation!

The fight continues

The effort to get this initiative on our fall ballot matters! It’s not just about repealing one bad tax. It’s about drawing a line in the sand and saying: enough. No more blank checks. No more sidestepping voters. No more pretending Olympia knows better than the people who built this state.

Let’s Go Washington has put the decision back where it belongs — in the hands of the voters. Sign the petition. Gather signatures. Talk to your neighbors. Stop the income tax before it becomes permanent. We need your signature by the end of June!

In Washington, the power still belongs to the people — if we’re willing to use it.

Nancy Churchill is a writer, educator, and conservative activist in rural eastern Washington state. She chairs the Ferry County Republican Party and advocates for effective citizen influence through Influencing Olympia Effectively. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on Substack and X.