Association of Washington Business (AWB) leadership will support efforts to repeal the state's new high earners income tax dubbed by its creators as the “millionaire’s tax” as well as three candidates for Washington state Supreme Court.
On Monday, the association announced endorsements for Initiative 645 and Washington state Supreme Court candidates Scott Edwards, Sean O’Donnell and Dave Larson.
The short list adds on to an already existing 50-name list of AWB endorsements. It comes before the association announces even more endorsements later this month.
In the brief announcement, AWB President Kris Johnson said he believes allowing the millionaire’s tax to go into effect would squander the state's advantage of not having an income tax.
“Washington is already a high-cost state for families and employers, even without this new tax,” Johnson said. “By adopting a state income tax, we are giving up one of our few competitive advantages with other states and regions and making Washington even more expensive for small- and medium-sized businesses, many of which are structured as S-corps and pass-through entities. If this tax is not repealed, they will have a higher tax burden and less profit for capital expansion, equipment, payroll and employee benefits. We hope voters will approve I-645 and lawmakers will get to work creating a growth agenda for the state.”
