OLYMPIA—Governor Bob Ferguson on Wednesday, May 27, publicly acknowledged that Let’s Go Washington’s initiative to repeal the newly enacted income tax he signed into law on March 30, will collect the required 309,000 valid signatures by the July 2nd deadline to qualify for the November 3rd general election ballot.
“It looks like voters will get a say on whether to maintain the tax on income over $1 million that was passed earlier this year- and I look forward to the public having their say on this important policy,” Gov. Ferguson wrote to X .To be clear, this reform of our regressive tax code included expansion of tax credits for working families, relief for small businesses, and investments in K-12 and affordable childcare. One more thing voters should know: so long as I am Governor I will veto ANY attempt to lower the threshold or raise the rate of this tax– we are asking those who make the most to pay a little more, and providing relief to workers and small businesses. Let’s keep it that way.”
Let’s Go Washington (LGW) launched the signature-gathering campaign on May 12 for initiative IP26-645 to repeal Washington’s newly enacted 9.9% tax on household income above $1 million and place the issue before voters on the November 2026 ballot. In its first week of an eight-week campaign, the organization has collected almost 93,000 signatures or 30% of the required 309,000 signatures.
In case you couldn't tell, people REALLY don't like the income tax. We've hit a new record for the number of signatures gathered in the shortest amount of time! Keep telling everyone you know to sign their name and repeal the income tax! pic.twitter.com/FtSfUjvI3Z
— Let's Go Washington (@letsgowa) May 27, 2026
“The voters in this state have rejected the income tax numerous times,” Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood said in its May 12 presser. “People don’t trust the legislature, no one believes this will remain a tax on just millionaires, and Olympia’s budget has doubled in 10 years; they must live within their own means just like everyone else.”
The legislation, Senate Bill 6346, imposes the levy on annual household wage income exceeding $1 million for residents and nonresidents earning Washington-sourced income. It applies to pass-through entities such as LLCs and S corporations but exempts C corporations and provides a $1 million standard deduction. The tax takes effect for income earned beginning in 2028, with collections starting in 2029 and projected to raise roughly $3 billion a year for the state’s general fund from about 21,000 filers.
Lawmakers said that the revenue will be used to support expansions of the Working Families Tax Credit, free K-12 meals, child care investments, reductions in business-and-occupation taxes for small companies and sales tax exemptions on diapers, personal hygiene products and over-the-counter drugs. The bill also includes a necessity clause declaring the tax essential for state government operations.
Governor Ferguson shared in his Wednesday post that he “will veto ANY attempt to lower the threshold or raise the rate of this tax.” However, Washington State Democrats are actively pushing to achieve a legislative supermajority in the 2026 elections.
A Democratic supermajority of two-thirds in both chambers would be exactly enough votes needed to override Ferguson’s veto on any bill. Democrats need to win seven seats in the House and three additional seats in the Senate to achieve their super majority goal.
Just as recently as May 15, Gov. Ferguson shared that “If we get that supermajority, I would not only support a redistricting effort — I would lead it.” Washington State Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad, House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon (D), and Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D) have all also publicly shared their goals for a supermajority Democrat-led legislature.
However, not everything is currently rosy in the Let’s Go Washington (LGW) camp.
Coincidentally, on May 12, the very same day LGW launched its Income Tax repeal campaign, Washingtonians for Ethical Government (WFEG), a progressive-leaning watchdog group, filed a 24-page complaint against the organization with the Public Disclosure Commission alleging LGW failed to report up to $1.2 million in in-kind contributions from commentator Brandi Kruse.
WFEG alleges that at least 159 instances of Kruse promoting LGW’s 2026 initiatives on her podcast, social media, and YouTube between September 2025 and February 2026., including several appearances at LGW rallies/events constitute as in-kind contributions. Which if the PDC agrees, could escalate to possible lobbying violations brought against Kruse. In Washington state, the penalty for failing to register as a lobbyist while engaging in lobbying activities is primarily a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation—or up to $1.59 million in possible penalties against Kruse.
LGW called the complaint “baseless,” a political attack on free speech, and a “coordinated union attack” even though WFEG itself claims to be an independent watchdog.
A Lynnwood Times investigation uncovered that several major public-sector and healthcare unions are closely aligned with WFEG through its Public Relations firm, Powerhouse Strategies, which all endorsed Bob Ferguson for his gubernatorial run in 2024—SEIU 775, UFCW 3000, WEA, WFSE-AFSCME, and AFL-CIO. These unions are “aligned” with WFEG and fund/share the same progressive consultant, Powerhouse Strategies.
The Public Disclosure Commission is still reviewing the complaint against LGW to determine whether to open a full investigation or drop the case.
House Appropriations Committee Ranking Minority Member Rep. Travis Couture (R-Allyn) in an interview with the Lynnwood Times back in April shared that the timing of a 2028 effective date of the Income Tax passed by Gov. Ferguson coincides not only with Ferguson’s re-election but also when state union employee collective bargaining agreements are up that same year—a $3 billion compensation on top of an estimated COLA maintenance level of $3 billion to $5 billion over 2029 and 2030.
Those obligations, Couture added, come on top of other deferred programs such as the Fair Start for Kids initiative, estimated at $1 billion, and various tax credits and spending pledges written into the tax legislation only as statements of intent.
“It is so curious that Bob Ferguson was against any income tax until he had a bunch of meetings with union thugs and then he switched – now he is all in on an income tax,” LGW founder Heywood wrote in a May 27 statement to X regarding Ferguson’s post announcing that IP26-645 will most likely be on the November ballot. “Meanwhile the union thugs launched a PR campaign with bogus complaints to the PDC to try to stop our initiative process… how curious the connections. Now Bagdad Bob, seeing how popular our initiative is to stop the income tax is promising restraint on expanding the income tax — you should totally believe him… of course this is just a week after he pledged to personally lead an effort to gerrymander state legislative districts to create a super majority that would ensure that representatives who oppose an income tax can be run over by an Olympia tax and spend steam shovel…Bagdad Bob is just trying to put lipstick on a pig.”
Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh alluded to Ferguson’s statement as “some strategery” to position himself as the “underdog” in defending the income tax if it repealed by voters.
“The current governor is panicking,” Walsh wrote on X. “He’s trying to use some strategery to prop up his troubled state income tax scheme. He’s raising expectations about its repeal, to position himself as the underdog in defending the crooked scheme. This isn’t going to work. His state income tax scheme is designed to be a tax on everyone in WA. And everyone in WA knows this. Fail.”
Washington voters have rejected statewide income tax measures 10 times since 1934 — six proposed constitutional amendments and four ballot initiatives — most recently Initiative 1098 in 2010 by a 64%-36% margin.
The Citizen Action Defense Fund (CADF), former Attorney General Rob McKenna, and former Supreme Court Justice and State Senator Phil Talmadge officially filed a lawsuit against the state of Washington, the Department of Revenue and Acting Director John Ryser challenging the newly enacted income tax on Thursday, April 9.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf homebuilder Benjamin Petter and his wife Lauren Petter of Chelan County; farmer Robert Mercer and his wife Brenda Mercer, who own property straddling Klickitat and Benton counties; trucker Curt Nuccitelli and Beatrice Gasper of Kent; and four nonprofit business groups: the Ethnic Chamber of Commerce Coalition, Yakima Klickitat Farm Association, Building Industry Association of Washington and the National Federation of Independent Business.
The plaintiffs allege that the income enacted by Senate Bill 6346 is unconstitutional on two grounds:
- Article VII, Section 1 of the state constitution requires all taxes on property to be uniform within the same class of property. Article VII, Section 1 defines “property” broadly to include “everything, whether tangible or intangible, subject to ownership.”
- Article VII, Section 2 caps the aggregate tax burden on property at 1% annually.
“For nearly a century, Washington courts have been clear: income is property, and property taxes must be uniform and limited,” said Rob McKenna. “This law disregards both the plain language of the constitution and decades of consistent Supreme Court precedent. We are confident the courts will strike it down.”
According to the complaint filed, Culliton v. Chase, 174 Wash. 363 (1933), struck down a graduated income tax along with subsequent rulings including Jensen v. Henneford (1936), Power Inc. v. Huntley (1951) and Kunath v. City of Seattle (2019). The complaint also states that a graduated rate violates the uniformity requirement and that the 9.9% rate exceeds the 1% cap.
“The minority-owned small businesses we represent—are already navigating rising costs and economic uncertainty,” said Mike Sotelo, Co-Chair of the Ethnic Chamber of Commerce Coalition, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “This tax adds another layer of instability that makes it harder for entrepreneurs to grow, hire, and stay in Washington. We’re proud to stand with our members in challenging a law that threatens their future.”
The lawsuit also warns that the tax threatens Washington’s longstanding competitive advantage as a state without a personal income tax, and is already driving businesses, investment, and entrepreneurs out of the state.
Author: Mario Lotmore
One Response
Bob Fergusons illegitimate tax hike laws across the board are a disgrace to the state of Washington. Gas taxes, are insane and do nothing to benefit the people of the Eastern side of the state. If Ferguson could run the state efficiently we would not be in such a state of distress. We need a Governor for the people, not a Governor interested in his own personal gains.