Manweller leads House Republican charge to prohibit a state income tax
Rep. Matt Manweller, along with 37 other members of the House Republican Caucus, has introduced legislation proposing an amendment to the state Constitution to prohibit a state income tax.
“House Joint Resolution 4207 is long overdue. It is time we simply take any talk or debate of a state income tax off the table,” said Manweller, R-Ellensburg. “We have a state Supreme Court that indirectly called for an income tax to fund education, individual cities such as Olympia have been testing the waters trying to pass an income tax and we know it isn’t constitutional. We have the opportunity to pass this constitutional amendment and support what the voters of Washington state have told us multiple times – no state income tax.”
Voters in Washington state have rejected an income tax nine times.
Manweller says while voters have been saying “no” to an income tax for about 80 years, the shift seems to be from getting an income tax approved at the ballot, to possibly finding a sympathetic court to come up with a ruling that would support an income tax.
“We need to make sure the court isn’t in a position to weigh in, because we know this would not end well for the taxpayers of Washington,” said Manweller. “We would be providing our citizens and businesses some peace of mind if this were to pass. There would be no income tax in the future for Washington. This also gives our state a clear competitive advantage over 41 other states.”
Washington is one of nine states that does not impose an income tax. Washington State’s Department of Commerce also touts the fact on their “Choose Washington” website that is used to promote Washington as a great place to do business.
On Tuesday, a public hearing was held in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on the companion bill, Senate Joint Resolution 8204.
The House resolution has been referred to the House Finance Committee.
The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn the 105-day session on April 23.
