Documents Suggest Washington State Democrats Eyeing Income Tax for All Residents

Documents Suggest Washington State Democrats Eyeing Income Tax for All Residents

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s victory last year was largely eclipsed by the political shockwave of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s triumph in America’s largest city. But make no mistake: Wilson — sometimes dubbed the “Mamdani of the West” — is every bit as radical, and every bit as dangerous, as her East Coast counterpart.

Like Mamdani, Wilson never sought to conceal her far-left worldview. When asked on the campaign trail whether she was a socialist, she answered without hesitation: “Yes, I am a socialist. … I’m fine with being called a socialist.”

Asked last week about the possibility of wealthy taxpayers fleeing the state after lawmakers approved a 9.9% “millionaire’s tax” on income exceeding $1 million, she laughed. Smiling broadly, she offered a simple reply: “Bye.”

While liberals celebrated the passage of the legislation — the state’s first-ever income tax — conservatives warned that it represented the opening salvo in a broader effort to impose a far more expansive tax regime on residents of the Evergreen State. Documents recently obtained by The Center Square suggest those concerns were well-founded.

Washington radio host and Fox News contributor Jason Rantz reported on Friday:

The tax is almost certainly unconstitutional — and was designed that way on purpose. Washington’s state constitution has prohibited a progressive income tax since 1933, when the state Supreme Court ruled in Culliton v. Chase that income is property, and property must be taxed uniformly and cannot exceed 1%.

But nearly 1,000 pages of public records … reveal the whole scheme: Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, the bill’s sponsor, wrote in an August email that, “I would like to force the Washington Supreme Court to reconsider its caselaw that considers income to be property.” He then sent a draft of the bill to Solicitor General Noah Purcell asking for “thoughts and comments about what will give us the best shot to have Culliton overruled.”

Attorney General’s Office Senior Counsel Chuck Zalesky was even more direct, writing that “the overall legislative goals, it seems to me, are to have our Supreme Court overturn Culliton v. Chase.”

According to Rantz, during a recently leaked Zoom meeting, a Democratic lawmaker told colleagues it is the legislature’s intent “to extend the income tax to all Washingtonians.”

Rantz noted that state officials aren’t relying on wealthy residents for funding; their plan “is to hit all of us.”

He reminded readers of the taxes already on the books prior to the passage of the millionaire’s tax: a capital gains tax, “a Business and Occupation tax that hits gross revenue whether you’re profitable or not, and Seattle’s nation-leading combined sales tax rate of 10.35%.”

In addition to an existing state payroll tax, the city of “Seattle recently implemented a 5% payroll tax on employer compensation exceeding $1 million per employee annually as part of a so-called ‘Social Housing’ tax.”

My home state of Connecticut introduced its statewide income tax in 1991 during a major budget crisis. Lawmakers framed it as a relatively modest, broad-based tax designed to stabilize state finances and claimed it would reduce or replace other high taxes on investment income. The initial tax was a flat 4.5% rate, though the first year was phased in at 1.5%.

Over the years, as the state’s appetite for revenue grew, the tax was repeatedly expanded and revised.

1996: Connecticut moved from a flat tax to multiple brackets
2003: the top rate increased to 5%
2009: a 6.5% bracket was added
2011 and 2015: additional brackets pushed the top rate higher still

Today, the top rate stands at 6.99%.

Following the passage of the millionaire’s tax, the exodus of wealthy taxpayers from Seattle began. Rantz reported that Starbucks founder Howard Schultz immediately announced he was moving to Florida and that his company would invest $100 million and create 2,000 new jobs in Nashville, Tennessee. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos had already left in 2023 after the state passed its capital gains tax. Rantz estimates that the city of Seattle could lose up to $750 million in tax revenue as a result.

According to data released by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation at the end of 2025, a taxpayer leaves Washington state every 29 minutes and 55 seconds. And that was before the millionaire’s tax passed.

Residents are voting with their feet, fleeing the state’s steadily expanding tax and regulatory burden.

These taxpayers are relocated to states with far more hospitable tax and regulatory climates — such as Florida, Texas, and North Carolina — which welcome a new resident every 2 minutes and 9 seconds, 2 minutes and 53 seconds, and 6 minutes and 21 seconds, respectively.

A news release accompanying the data noted, “In short, interstate movement isn’t just a series of arrows in different directions, it’s proof that Americans want lower taxes and limited government — and you can measure it with your watch.”

Mayor Wilson and her socialist allies may laugh off those concerns, but they would do well to remember a basic economic reality: the wealthier a person is, the more freedom they have to relocate their investments, businesses, and even their residency. When policymakers treat affluent residents as an inexhaustible source of revenue, they risk driving away not only taxpayers, but also employers, investors, and entrepreneurs whose capital helps sustain the broader economy.

[Featured image via YouTube]

Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn.

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