Dear friends and neighbors, 

We have an opportunity this session to finally take a significant step forward in fixing our state’s broken tax code by asking the wealthiest among us to pay a little more to help fund schools, health care, and other necessities families are struggling to afford. 

Federal cuts to health care and education, combined with inflation, are driving up the cost of everything from food to housing and stretching household budgets. On top of that, our upside-down tax structure is failing to keep up with the needs of Washington families.  

The reason average families are feeling the squeeze is because Washington still stands out as having one of the most regressive tax codes in the country – that means in nearly every other state the wealthy pay more than they do here in Washington.  Our state has even been compared to tax havens like the Cayman Islands due to our unfair tax structure. 

We all contribute for shared public benefit, yet low- and middle-income families pay a much higher percentage of their income in taxes than the wealthy. Those in our state with income in the bottom 20% pay 13.8% of their income in taxes, while the top 1% pays only 4.1%.   

A millionaire tax is one of several ideas we’ll consider this session to make our tax code fairer. A 9.9% tax on annual income in excess of $1 million (not including capital gains) would affect fewer than 0.5% of people and generate an estimated $3.5 billion each year to help pay for great public schools, health care, public safety, and the services that our most vulnerable residents count on. 

Gov. Bob Ferguson recently announced his support for the idea, and a new poll showed strong support, even among Republicans. 

Getting a proposal like this passed this year would help reduce or eliminate other regressive taxes without harming essential state services. I’m optimistic we can get it passed this session to set us on a sustainable path for future years.  

Stay engaged 

I hope you will continue sharing the issues that matter most to you and your family. If you’re looking to get more involved this session, here are a few ways to do so:  

  • Learn how a bill becomes a law.    
  • Find legislation on the issues important to you.    
  • Watch live committee hearings, floor debates, and archived videos of your democracy in action.    
  • Testify before legislative committees remotely or in person.    

Sincerely,  

Derek Stanford