OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:35 AM – Thursday, March 12, 2026
Democrat lawmakers in Washington state have voted to pass a 9.9% annual income tax on earnings that amount to $1 million or more.
The new tax, approved on Wednesday after more than 24 hours of debate, should generate up to $4 billion annually. This revenue is allegedly earmarked to be funneled into childcare and to remove sales taxes on hygiene products.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson (D-Wash.) expressed his support for the bill and said that he plans to sign the measure into law, believing it will “make life more affordable.”
“The new proposal retains the progress already made: The sales tax exemptions on common products, such as diapers and hygiene products, and significant tax breaks for businesses,” he explained in a statement last week after the proposal was revised.
“The current proposal makes the Working Families Tax Credit available to 460,000 additional households. That’s money straight back into the pockets of working families. The Working Families Tax Credit is an existing program in which qualifying families receive a check from the State for an amount between $300 and $1,300,” he continued. “The revised bill removes the age restrictions on the program, and expands eligibility to every family earning at or below our state’s ‘Need Standard’ – essentially, a household’s living wage.”
The legislation is set to go into effect on January 1, 2028, with tax payments beginning in 2029. It is expected to impact about 21,000 residents across the state.
State House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Wash.) said the new law was to address the “grossly outdated” legislation in the state. Thus far, Washington is one of nine states that do not have a personal or corporate income tax.
“It has been a long journey here to this moment, not just the over 24 hours that we’ve spent on this floor debating this proposal, but the 93 years that Washingtonians have struggled with a grossly outdated tax structure that falls by far the heaviest on the lowest income,” Fitzgibbon stated about the bill.
Some argue that implementing an income tax after decades without it in the Evergreen State might cause the state’s wealthy population to flee and harm the economy.
Washington state Republicans fought the bill and attempted to amend it to ensure it was subject to voter approval.
“The people of Washington have a right to know what’s in this bill. The people of Washington have a right to know what’s not in this bill and they have a right to decide,” said state Representative Peter Abbarno (R-Wash.).
Voters have rejected income tax proposals 10 times in the state, most recently in 2010.
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who has an approximate $3.5 billion net worth, announced on Wednesday, during the hours-long debates, that he would be moving to Florida. Starbucks is the iconic coffee company based in Seattle with a coffee blend named for its original location in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, which opened in the 1970s. The company also announced that it would open new offices in Nashville, Tennessee, offering for some Seattle-based employees to move.
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming are the other remaining states with no income tax.
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