The battle over Washington's new income tax is one step closer to the November ballot. Backers of an initiative to repeal the so-called millionaires tax have submitted far more signatures than the law requires.
The margin was substantial. The Secretary of State received more than 511,000 signatures, well above the roughly 309,000 required, making it the fourth-highest number of signatures ever gathered for an initiative in Washington.
The campaign is led by the group Let's Go Washington. Its founder, Brian Haywood, handed over the signatures and said he is confident the measure will qualify and appear on the ballot no matter what, noting his team targets a safe margin well above the minimum.
Haywood was emphatic that the initiative is narrowly written. He said it targets only the income tax and does not touch the state's capital gains tax, adding that organizers were careful to comply with the single-subject rule that governs ballot measures in the state.
The measure faces organized opposition. The Washington Education Association, whose president is Larry Delaney, released a statement arguing the repeal would take money from schools as housing and health care costs climb, cut child care funding, raise taxes on small businesses and working families, and eliminate universal school lunches.
Backers counter that the revenue picture is being distorted. Haywood said more than ninety-five percent of the money flows into the general fund rather than directly to kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade education, and he argued the state's budget has ballooned over the years while Washington has slipped in rankings as a place to start a business.
Even if the initiative reaches the ballot, voters may not have the final say. The income tax is also facing a lawsuit that challenges its constitutionality, and that case will likely be decided by the state Supreme Court.