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Washington Rolls Out a Millionaires Tax

Estimate $3B in revenue will fund childcare, school meals, and small business relief
Posted Mar 31, 2026 6:12 AM CDT
Washington Rolls Out a Millionaires Tax
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson speaks before signing bills limiting facial coverings on law enforcement officers and making it a crime to impersonate a peace officer, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Washington, long known for skipping an income tax, just broke with that tradition—at least for its wealthiest residents. Gov. Bob Ferguson on Monday signed into law a new 9.9% levy on annual income over $1 million, set to kick in come 2028. The money is earmarked for child care, universal school meals, expanded tax credits for low-wage workers, and tax relief for small businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal. Ferguson cast the move as a fairness fix, noting that the lowest-earning 20% of Washingtonians currently devote a far larger share of their income to sales and property taxes than the rich do. "This disparity was made much worse by President Trump's massive tax cuts for the wealthy, paid for, by the way, with cuts to necessities like healthcare and food assistance that have tremendous harm to the people of Washington state," Ferguson said.

The tax is set to affect some 21,000 high-earners, notes the Seattle Times, and bring in about $3 billion a year. Republicans warn the tax could backfire by driving the rich—and their investments—out of state, and fear the threshold could eventually creep lower. Washington's shift lands amid a broader blue-state push to tap the highest earners: Massachusetts' 4% millionaires surtax is already bringing in close to $3 billion a year, while Democrats in New York, Colorado, and California are weighing new income or wealth taxes of their own. Red states, meanwhile, are moving in the opposite direction, racing to shrink or erase income taxes entirely.

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