A moderate Democrat’s curveball on the income tax
Plus some survivors from this week's cutoff
The current tally of sponsors on the state House version of Democrats’ “millionaire’s tax” is 37, which is missing more than one-third of the party’s 59-seat majority. Presumably some of those 22 Democrats are very much in play but waiting to trade their vote for something.
Rep. Amy Walen, D-Kirkland, staked out her negotiating position this week, and it’s quite a gambit. She filed a proposed constitutional amendment and accompanying bill that reflects her fairly unique position as one of the only business owners in the caucus, with auto dealer and real estate money in her F-1 filings. Her HR 4213 and HB 2738 would enshrine a 9.9% income tax on wages above $1 million in the state constitution while addressing a host of complaints from the business community, and would address concerns about a so-called marriage penalty by setting the threshold for couples at $2M.
Walen said she’s a no on the Senate version of the income tax, and wants to slow down the income tax freight train running through this session to give lawmakers more time to understand the proposal’s impact on various parts of the economy. She said the pressure on her fellow lawmakers, especially newer members, has been “deeply worrying” for them, and described her gambit as a “relief valve” from the current negotiations.
