By Jim Brunner
The Seattle Times
(TNS)
Opponents of Washington’s new high-earners income tax said Tuesday they’ll start gathering signatures for an initiative to repeal it this fall.
To qualify for the November ballot, foes of the tax will need to gather 308,911 signatures from voters by July 2. To make up for invalid or duplicate signatures, the secretary of state’s office advises gathering closer to 400,000.
In a news release, leaders of Let’s Go Washington, the conservative group leading the anti-tax charge, said they’re confident they can meet reach that goal despite the short time frame.
“The voters in this state have rejected the income tax numerous times and we’ve had thousands of people reach out to help us repeal the income tax,” said Brian Heywood, the Redmond hedge fund manager who heads Let’s Go Washington.
The initiative Heywood said the group will back was filed in April by Chantell Mellott, a North Bend resident.
The initiative would repeal the 9.9% tax on income of more than $1 million a year for Washington households, eliminating what Democrats have labeled the “millionaires tax.”
Recommended Articles
Supporters of the tax vowed to defend it.
“We look forward to making our case to the public that this is a sensible policy that makes our tax code more fair and raises critically important funding for education, healthcare, and other public priorities, while reducing taxes on lower and middle income families and on small businesses,” said Aisling Kerins, a spokesperson for the Millionaires Tax for Washington coalition, a union-backed group supporting the tax, in a statement.
Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the income tax into law earlier this year. It is slated to start on 2028 income, with the first payments to the state in 2029. It is projected to raise $3 billion to $4 billion a year, affecting some 21,000 households.
Money raised by the levy would mostly go the state’s operating budget, which funds schools, universities, healthcare and other state services. A 5% slice is legally dedicated to childcare and early learning programs.
The legislation creating the income tax also included some tax relief, eliminating the sales tax on diapers, hygiene products and over-the-counter drugs, and making 460,000 additional households eligible for an annual sales tax rebate of $330 to $1,330.
The initiative backed by Heywood’s group doesn’t touch those tax cuts.
In addition to the potential ballot fight, the tax has been challenged in court, with opponents arguing it is unconstitutional under longstanding state Supreme Court precedent.
Heywood’s announcement on Tuesday comes amid debate and uncertainty among critics of the tax on whether to fight it on this year’s ballot or wait until 2027.
With the midterm election shaping up to be a bad one for Republicans due to a backlash against President Donald Trump’s war and economic record, some tax foes had argued it would be better to put off the challenge until next year.
In an interview Monday, Heywood acknowledged that debate but said his preference was to seek a vote this November—in part to stave off further tax increases, such as wealth or business payroll taxes that have been floated in recent years.
“Unless they pay a price this year, what’s to stop them?” Heywood said.
Photo caption: Brian Heywood of Let’s Go Washington, the conservative group leading the anti-millionaires tax charge. (Let’s Go Washington/YouTube)
_______
© 2026 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
Sign in to get access to this free resource, and all of our whitepapers and reports.
Download this content today!
Register Now Already registered? Click here to Log In
