Washington judge allows fiscal-impact language for millionaires-tax repeal to remain on November ballot
A Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled Aug. 7 that Washington may include a fiscal-impact disclosure on the November ballot describing how repeal of the state’s new high-income-earners tax could affect public funding.
The decision rejected a lawsuit seeking to prevent the disclosure from appearing alongside Initiative 645, a measure that would repeal the tax. The initiative qualified for the statewide general-election ballot on July 16 and is scheduled to go before voters Nov. 3, 2026.
Unless the ruling is overturned or otherwise changed, voters will see the fiscal-impact language as they consider whether to repeal the tax. The decision affects the information presented with the measure, but it does not resolve the broader legal dispute over the tax itself.
What Initiative 645 would do
Initiative 645 would repeal a tax enacted through Senate Bill 6346. Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the bill March 30, 2026.
Washington court materials describe Senate Bill 6346 as imposing a 9.9% tax on household wage earnings above $1 million. The measure has been characterized as a tax on high household wage earnings, while Initiative 645 is the repeal proposal now headed to voters.
The fiscal-impact disclosure is intended to provide information about the potential effect of the repeal on public finances. In practical terms, the ruling means the state’s budget-impact information will remain part of the ballot presentation rather than being removed before the election.
The available public description of the dispute does not establish a particular dollar amount that repeal would add to or subtract from the state budget. The ruling therefore should not be read as a final calculation of the measure’s fiscal consequences.
The ruling’s limits
The Aug. 7 decision concerns whether the fiscal-impact language may appear with Initiative 645. It is not a final decision on whether the 9.9% tax is constitutional, and it does not determine whether the tax will remain in effect permanently.
Separate legal challenges involving the tax and its repeal may continue. The ballot ruling preserves the disclosure for the November vote while those wider disputes remain unresolved.
That distinction matters because voters will face both a policy choice and a legal backdrop. A “yes” vote on Initiative 645 would support repealing the tax, while a “no” vote would leave the repeal proposal unsuccessful at the ballot. The court’s decision determines how fiscal-impact information accompanies that choice, not the election’s outcome or the ultimate status of the tax.
Election timeline
Ferguson signed Senate Bill 6346 on March 30. Initiative 645 qualified for the November general-election ballot July 16. The Thurston County Superior Court issued its ruling on the disclosure Aug. 7.
Washington’s primary election is scheduled for Aug. 4, 2026, followed by the general election Nov. 3. The Secretary of State provides election-calendar information and voter resources for the 2026 cycle.
For Washington voters, the immediate result is that the fiscal-impact language will remain alongside the tax-repeal initiative unless a later court action or other change alters the ruling. The November election will decide whether Initiative 645 succeeds, while separate litigation continues to shape the legal questions surrounding the tax enacted earlier this year.
Sources
- Initiative to repeal WA ‘millionaires tax’ qualifies for November ballot, The Spokesman-Review / The Seattle Times
- Court battle set to begin over Washington’s new millionaires’ tax, Washington State Courts
- Elections, Washington Secretary of State
Look for updates to this story
Discover more from Interactive News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.