Washington Conservatives Launch Signature Drive to Repeal State Income Tax on November Ballot
Why It Matters
Washington’s new income tax law — and the push to kill it before it ever takes effect — could set the stage for one of the most consequential ballot fights in the state’s recent history. The outcome will determine whether a 9.9% levy on high-earning households ever collects a single dollar, and whether Washington permanently closes the door on any future income tax at any level of government.
What Happened
The conservative political committee Let’s Go Washington launched a signature-gathering campaign Tuesday to place a measure on the November ballot that would repeal the state’s newly enacted income tax on top earners. Brian Heywood, the group’s founder and chief financier, announced the effort at a morning news conference, calling the law unconstitutional under Washington voters’ longstanding opposition to income taxation.
The measure targets Senate Bill 6346, which imposes a 9.9% tax on household wage income exceeding $1 million annually, beginning in 2028. Collections were set to start in 2029 and raise roughly $3 billion per year from an estimated 21,000 filers statewide. The initiative, if it qualifies and passes, would strike down that levy and go further — prohibiting state and local governments from enacting any tax on individual income, regardless of its source, while writing a legal definition of income directly into state statute.
The group has 51 days to collect 308,911 valid signatures from registered voters, with a July 2 deadline. Election officials recommend submitting at least 390,000 to account for invalidations.
“We are extremely confident that we’ll be able to do this,” Heywood said, pointing to the group’s successful signature drive for a natural gas initiative two years ago, which was completed in a shorter timeframe.
The Details: What Gets Kept, What Gets Scrapped
The initiative is not a clean sweep of the underlying legislation. Heywood’s group said it would preserve several provisions from the same bill: expanded tax credits for lower-income families, broader business tax relief, elimination of the sales tax on diapers, personal hygiene products, and over-the-counter medications, and cancellation of a new sales tax on services set for 2029.
What the initiative would remove, beyond the income tax itself, is a provision directing 5% of annual tax collections to the Fair Start for Kids account, which funds early childhood learning programs.
“We’re grateful that the Legislature was able to reduce some taxes on things that they’ve already been penalizing people on,” Heywood said. “So we’re not repealing any of those things.”
By the Numbers
- 9.9% — The levy rate on household wage income above $1 million under Senate Bill 6346
- 21,000 — Estimated number of filers who would be subject to the tax
- ~$3 billion — Projected annual revenue from the income tax
- 308,911 — Valid signatures required to qualify the initiative by July 2
- 390,000+ — Recommended submission total to account for invalid signatures
Pushback From Olympia
Supporters of the income tax are not conceding the fight. Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, who was a lead architect of the law, said he expects Let’s Go Washington to succeed in reaching the ballot — and said he welcomes the vote. “I think the voters are with us,” he said.
Pedersen also raised a legal complication: he believes the original legislation was drafted so that removing the income tax provision nullifies the rest of the bill as well. If that interpretation holds, eliminating the revenue stream while also ending other taxes in the law “is going to exacerbate the problem” of funding education, healthcare, and social services, he said.
Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek, chair of the House Finance Committee, argued that voters recognize the state’s tax structure places a disproportionate burden on lower-income residents. A newly organized labor-backed coalition called Millionaires Tax for Washington also said it will campaign in favor of keeping the law intact.
Zoom Out
Let’s Go Washington was previously blocked from pursuing a faster referendum path after Secretary of State Steve Hobbs ruled the law contained a “necessity clause” shielding it from referendum. The Washington Supreme Court upheld that decision last week, forcing the group to pursue the more demanding initiative process instead.
If the income tax measure qualifies, it will join two other Let’s Go Washington initiatives already headed for November ballots — one addressing parental notification rights for public school students, and another concerning biological male athletes competing in girls’ school sports. The November election could effectively serve as a broad referendum on the direction of Washington’s progressive legislative agenda.
What’s Next
The group has until July 2 to submit signatures. If the initiative qualifies, Washington voters will decide its fate in November. Legal questions about whether the remaining provisions of Senate Bill 6346 survive without the income tax component are expected to require further court or legislative review regardless of the ballot outcome.
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