Democrats controlling the Senate voted 27-22 today to create a state income tax in Washington, despite voters having rejected such a tax numerous times over the past century.

Senate Bill 6346 would impose a 9.9% tax on individual income over $1 million.

9^th District Sen. Mark Schoesler, along with all 18 other Republicans and three Democrats, voted against the proposal. He argued it is a first step toward a state income tax on all Washingtonians.

“The bill’s proponents say it would only tax people making more than a million dollars a year, but you can almost guarantee Democrats will come back and lower the income-tax threshold once the people initially paying this new income tax take their money and move out of Washington,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “Once that happens, people making much less than a million will have to pay this income tax as well. History tells us everyone eventually will have to pay this state income tax, not just millionaires.”

During his floor speech opposing SB 6346, Schoesler told senators how the Legislature in previous years has created or raised taxes with promises to sufficiently fund K-12 education or health care.

“People out there actually are being told if you pass this income tax, you’re going to get health care funded and you’re going to get education funded. Nowhere in this bill does any section dedicate one penny to those causes that many people are very, very supportive of. It just isn’t there. We were told years ago that if we just had some more ‘sin’ taxes, we could fund health care, which I think is called the Basic Health Plan. Well, that didn’t work either because of an insatiable appetite for tax money that doesn’t go where people say it’s going to go,” said Schoesler.

“This bill doesn’t even say that the money raised by this income tax would be spent just on K-12. Instead, it would just go into the state general fund’s giant pot of money that can be spent on pretty much anything.”

If enacted, SB 6346 would override Initiative 2111, the measure approved by the Legislature with bipartisan support in 2024 that banned state and local income taxes in Washington.

“Nearly 450,000 voters in our state signed I-2111, sending it to the Legislature. But now the Democrats are ignoring the voters’ wishes – yet again. It’s important to remember that Washington voters have rejected an income-tax proposal 11 times! Democrats just thumbed their noses at voters and ignored the will of the people. They even included a provision in this bill that makes it impossible for voters to challenge it at the ballot box.”

The 9th District senator also noted SB 6346 would hit married people filing jointly who make a combined income of $1 million the same way it hits individuals.

“This proposal will punish marriage,” said Schoesler.

Majority Democrats defeated many Republican amendments to the proposal, including:

• Allowing people the right to vote via referendum on the state income-tax bill.
• Specifying that the bill is unconstitutional because it violates well-established state constitutional limitations on property taxes.
• Removing the marriage penalty provision from the bill.
• Providing a sales-and-use tax exemption for diapers.

SB 6346 now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.