Initiative 2109 is an initiative to the 2024 Washington State Legislature that would repeal Washington State’s capital gains tax on extremely wealthy households. The House and Senate did not act on it and consequently, it will be before voters in the November 2024 general election.
Basic facts
| Ballot Title: | Initiative Measure No. 2109 concerns taxes. This measure would repeal an excise tax imposed on the sale or exchange of certain long-term capital assets by individuals who have annual capital gains of over $250,000. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ] |
| Ballot Summary: | This measure would repeal an excise tax imposed on the sale or exchange of certain long-term capital assets by individuals who have annual capital gains of over $250,000. |
| Filed on: | May 17th, 2023 at 2:08 PM |
| Certified: | January 23rd, 2024 (by random sample check) |
| Petition Information: | The Secretary of State’s office reported receiving 26,611 petition sheets for I-2109 bearing 436,474 signature lines. 13,095 of those signatures were selected for a three percent random sample check. 10,752 were accepted and 2,343 were deemed to be duplicate or invalid. More details are available here. |
| Sponsor: | Republican State Party Chair Jim Walsh |
| Principal Funder: | Multimillionaire hedge fund manager Brian Heywood |
| Complete Text: | Available (PDF) |
Why we oppose I-2109
If passed, I-2109 would repeal Washington’s current capital gains excise tax on stock market profits greater than $250,000, eliminating more than $5 billion in funding for early learning, childcare, K-12 education, and school construction over the next five years. I-2109 would Washington’s billionaires and millionaires a big tax break.
All of Washington’s kids, no matter their zip code or how much money their parents earn, should have the same access to care and early learning. In its first year, Washington’s capital gains tax funded early learning and schools to the tune of nearly $900 million. This education funding has already prevented Washington’s childcare system from collapsing, avoiding the pitfalls that other states are facing.
The capital gains tax is paid by just 0.2 percent of Washingtonians, all of whom are extremely wealthy. In 2023, 3,300 extremely rich people paid the tax. A new report says this tax is one of the main reasons why Washington no longer has the most regressive tax code in the nation. Some of our state’s wealthiest people have spent the last two years trying to repeal this tax or get it thrown out in court, and they have failed. Now, they’re trying to convince voters to eliminate it for them so they don’t have to pay.
Without this funding, childcare programs will be cut, our public schools will face even greater funding shortfalls, and much-needed repairs and construction of schools will grind to a halt. This will hurt working families who rely on childcare, students trying to learn with outdated textbooks, and rural communities who need overdue upgrades to crumbling school buildings.
Vote NO on I-2109.
Wintertime fiscal assessment by OFM
OFM is the Office of Financial Management. Among its responsibilities is assessing the fiscal impact of proposed legislation, whether that legislation comes from the people or the people’s elected representatives. Below you’ll find OFM’s wintertime fiscal assessment of Initiative 2109, prepared during the legislative session. Note that this document contains legal and technical jargon.