WA revenue officials: Income tax will bring in more money than first expected

A new analysis from the state Department of Revenue shows Washington’s high-earner income tax will be paid by thousands of additional households and produce hundreds of millions of dollars more than previously assumed — if voters don’t ditch it this fall.

These larger figures will be in front of voters as they decide whether to repeal the tax in the Nov. 3 election. If voters uphold the tax, it could mean lawmakers need to make fewer cuts to balance the next two-year budget.

When Gov. Bob Ferguson signed legislation creating the income tax in late March, he and lawmakers counted on it to generate $2.7 billion for the next budget and $6.9 billion for the following two-year fiscal cycle.

Now, three months before an initiative to repeal the tax appears on ballots statewide, the department has revised its numbers, predicting this new levy will bring in $3.1 billion in the initial fiscal year and roughly $8.3 billion in the 2029-31 biennium.