Washington Income Tax Measure (2010)

Not on Ballot
This measure did not or will not appear on a ballot

The Washington Income Tax Measure did not appear on the November 2, 2010 ballot in Washington as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment. The measure proposed an income tax of 4.5% on income over $200,000 for individuals, $300,000 for heads of households and $400,000 for married couples. Additionally the measure would have reduced the sales tax by one cent. The income tax rate would not have applied to corporations. According to officials, the measure was not meant to close the state's current budget deficit, but instead to increase taxes for the future.

Supporters

The proposed bill, SB 6250, was sponsored by Sen. Rosa Franklin. Franklin said, "Our tax structure is long overdue for modernization, and we are equally long overdue in addressing this problem." The concept of an income tax in the State of Washington was supported by Sen. Lisa Brown. The proposed tax, she said, would "bring more fairness and stability to our sales-tax-dependent tax structure." However, Brown said she didn't think SB 6250, the proposed bill, was the right way to go.

Opponents

Of the tax proposal Sen. Joe Zarelli said, "I think it's the wrong answer. The right answer is getting spending in line with revenue." Sen. Mark Schoesler said he opposed the bill because it could have led to a larger income tax in the future.

Path to the ballot

See also: How the Washington Constitution is amended

In order to place the measure on the statewide ballot, the measure required at least a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. The legislative session ended on March 11 without a vote on the proposed measure. Despite a special session on the economy/state budget, the measure was not voted upon.

See also

• 2010 ballot measures
• Washington 2010 ballot measures

External links

• SB 6250 summary
• SB 6250 full text

Additional reading

• The Olympian,"Income tax proposal offers sales-tax cut," March 4, 2010
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer,"State income tax: 'It is time,' or 'totally unacceptable'?," March 4, 2010