WA governor promises to ‘veto any attempt’ to drop threshold on millionaires tax
Gov. Bob Ferguson on Wednesday vowed to never lower the $1 million threshold on Washington’s controversial new income tax on high earners.
Senate Bill 6346 imposes a 9.9% levy on annual household income exceeding $1 million. Ferguson has verbally promised to not back an income tax below that $1 million bar, FOX 13 reported in February.
The first-term Democratic governor noted in a May 27 post on X that it appears voters will soon have a say on whether to keep the tax, referring to an initiative repeal effort from the conservative political group Let’s Go Washington.
“One more thing voters should know: so long as I am Governor I will veto ANY attempt to lower the threshold or raise the rate of this tax-- we are asking those who make the most to pay a little more, and providing relief to workers and small businesses,” Ferguson said in the post. “Let’s keep it that way.”
Ferguson and supporters have argued that the new law, which advocates branded the “millionaires tax,” is a step toward reforming Washington’s regressive tax code. They point out that the legislation expands the state’s Working Families Tax Credit and eliminates sales taxes on hygiene and grooming products, over-the-counter medication and diapers.
Those opposing the measure often argue that it doesn’t do enough to offer regular Washingtonians substantive tax relief, and that it will hurt small businesses and the broader economy. They also fear that the $1 million threshold will someday be dropped.
Earlier this month, Let’s Go Washington (LGW) launched an initiative to repeal the tax. Founder Brian Heywood has said that LGW would aim to gather some 400,000 signatures over 51 days to get the effort on the fall ballot.
LGW communications director Hallie Herzberg told McClatchy on Wednesday that the group had counted about 92,000 signatures after a week.
That number, she said, is “much higher than what we typically see” within that time; they usually average about 65,000 at this stage.
Heywood told McClatchy in an emailed statement that Olympia and Ferguson have lost credibility on the matter.
“It is clear from the voices we hear signing our initiatives that no one believes him,” he said in response to Ferguson’s X post. “This feels like typical, dishonest pandering and damage control. Lipstick on a pig.”
On Tuesday evening, Heywood wrote on X that to qualify the initiative, 308,911 signatures will need to be collected, though 380,000 are recommended given the possibility of mistakes, duplicates and non-registered voters. The group says it’s aiming for at least 400,000 “to be safe.”
LGW is asking for signature sheets to be turned in by June 28 ahead of the official July 2 deadline.
Heywood added on X that his group collected about 65,000 signatures in the first week for a 2024 initiative to stop local and state governments from restricting natural-gas access.
This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 2:21 PM with the headline "WA governor promises to ‘veto any attempt’ to drop threshold on millionaires tax."
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