Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on March 30 signed legislation creating the state’s first income tax in nearly a century, imposing a 9.9 percent levy on annual income greater than $1 million a year and drawing immediate legal and political challenges from Republicans and business groups.
Senate Bill 6346, sponsored by state Sen. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat, applies only to income above $1 million. Less than half of 1 percent of Washington residents will pay it, according to Ferguson’s office. In the first full year of implementation, more than 41 percent of revenue will go back to Washington families and small business owners, the governor said.
