Second Lawsuit Filed Against Newly Enacted Income Tax in Washington State

Opponents of Washington’s first-ever state income tax of 9.9% filed a lawsuit urging the courts to strike down the new tax as unconstitutional, joining an existing lawsuit over language in the law that prohibits voters from having a say in its enactment.

Income is property – and has been treated as such in Washington for as long as income taxes have been around, according to Jackson Maynard, head of the Citizens Action Defense Fund and former Attorney General Rob McKenna. Maynard and McKenna, along with former Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, are key figures atop the lawsuit filed today in Washington State.

“Washington’s constitution is clear, and the courts have been equally clear for nearly a century—income is property, and progressive income taxes are unconstitutional under existing law,” said lead counsel Rob McKenna. “If the State proceeds with the new income tax, it will create a direct conflict with binding precedent and the constitutional protections that safeguard taxpayers.”

Yet, progressives in the legislature look forward to the opportunity for their equally progressive colleagues on the Washington Supreme Court to consider overturning that longstanding precedent that holds income to be property. Dominated by ideological leftists, the current Supreme Court already upheld a 7% capital gains tax in 2023. That controversial 7-2 decision handed Washington a hefty income tax on investment earnings after justices classified it as an excise tax, making Washington State the only jurisdiction in the world to deploy such a classification.

The new CADF effort comes just days after another lawsuit was filed by Brian Heywood, founder of Let’s Go Washington. Heywood pointed out the fact that language in the income tax bill, known as a “necessity clause”, eliminates the ability of voters to decide on the legislation via referendum in November. Per Section 1208 of the bill: “The tax imposed in this act is necessary for the support of the state government and its existing public institutions.”

In other words, Democrats made sure voters will not have any say in the implementation of a major new broad-based 9.9% income tax.

It is no surprise why Democrats ensured to include such a prohibition in their law. Voters have already rejected an income tax on ten separate occasions over the last few decades – most by a 2/3 supermajority margin.

With two meaningful lawsuits now in play, however, voters have a glimmer of hope that courts will overturn the legislature’s flagrant attempt to skirt the will of the people and force an income tax upon the unwilling people of Washington. If not, Heywood and Let’s Go Washington will likely pursue an initiative process that requires twice as many signatures and more complicated messaging, but will still give voters a say on the income tax in November.

Let the games begin.