Adopted by the membership on March 8, 2023 at the monthly membership meeting.
Resolution in Support of a Washington Tax on Extreme Wealth
(SB 5486 and HB 1473)
WHEREAS the 34th District Democrats platform supports wealth taxes and the Washington State Democrats have called for “fair and just tax system for all; by creating a progressive wealth tax;” and
WHEREAS Washington State has the most regressive tax system in the country, with the bottom 20% of Washington’s lowest-income residents paying nearly 18% of their income for state and local taxes, while those in the highest 20% income bracket pay less than 7% of their income for state and local taxes; and
WHEREAS Washington State is facing a crisis in funding for public schools, housing and homelessness, developmental disability services, climate change resilience, public transit and transportation, physical and mental health care, and more; and
WHEREAS Senate Bill 5486 and House Bill 1473, which are titled “Investing in Washington families and creating a more fair tax system by enacting a narrowly tailored property tax on extreme wealth derived from the ownership of stocks, bonds, and other financial intangible property,” propose a 1% tax on financial property in excess of $250 million, with revenue collected funding public education, housing, disabilities, and taxpayer justice; and
WHEREAS SB 5486 and HB 1473 would generate more than $6 BILLION per biennium for Washington (according to SB 5486’s fiscal note), and affect about 700 Washingtonians fortunate enough to have more than $250 million in wealth; and
WHEREAS Senator Nguyen and Representative Alvarado are co-sponsors of SB 5486 and HB 1473, respectively,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the 34th LD Democrats support the creation of a wealth tax as defined in SB 5486 and HB 1473 to fund needed services for Washingtonians, such as public education, housing, disabilities, and taxpayer justice; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the 34th LD Democrats call on all Democrats in the Washington State Legislature to wholeheartedly support passing these bills.
Submitted to the 34th LD Democrats February 2023 by Bunny Hatcher.