According to State Rep. Jim Walsh, the Democrats’ shiny new 9.9% income tax on households making more than $1 million was carefully engineered with an easy future expansion already baked in. The supposedly sacred protection for middle-class families? One lonely little section — Section 314 — buried inside a monstrous 1,208-section bill and conveniently written so it can be removed later with a simple majority vote.

Totally reassuring.

Walsh blasted the Ferguson-Pedersen income tax scheme as a political bait-and-switch, pointing out that Democrats isolated the deduction threshold instead of structurally embedding it into the law. Translation: the “millionaires only” promise is about as durable as a campaign flyer left out in the Seattle rain.

Republican candidate Tonya Stadlman added another uncomfortable reality check Democrats would rather ignore: Washington is already bleeding high earners, businesses, and investment. The state now ranks near the bottom nationally in tax competitiveness, while wealthy residents and employers continue fleeing to states like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee — places smart enough not to punish productivity with an income tax.

But Olympia Democrats apparently believe the solution to people leaving is… more taxes.

Stadlman warned that Democrats are building a $3 billion revenue fantasy on just 21,000 wealthy households. And when those taxpayers leave, Democrats won’t cut spending. They’ll do what they always do: expand the tax burden downward onto small businesses, working families, retirees, and everyone else trapped footing the bill for Olympia’s addiction to spending.

And the most revealing part? Democrats have basically admitted it. State Rep. April Berg openly described the millionaire tax as merely “the next incremental step” and hinted the threshold dropping lower is simply a matter of time. Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen hasn’t seriously denied it either.

So while Democrats insist this tax will “only affect the rich,” Walsh is exposing the real plan hiding in plain sight: pass the income tax now, normalize it politically, then quietly broaden it later once the infrastructure is in place. Read more at Seattle Red.

Washington’s business climate is collapsing under the weight of Democrat tax hikes and anti-business policies, and employers are making it clear they’ve had enough.

A new spring 2026 survey from the Association of Washington Business found that nearly one in four employers are now considering relocating out of Washington — almost triple the number from winter 2025. More than half of business leaders are also considering moving their personal residences elsewhere as taxes and regulations continue piling up.

It’s not hard to see why.

As the Washington Policy Center points out, Democrats in Olympia pushed through the largest tax increase in state history in 2025, raising B&O taxes, adding new surcharges, and laying the groundwork for a state income tax that everyone knows will eventually expand beyond “millionaires.” Washington’s business tax climate has fallen from one of the best in the nation to near the bottom in just over a decade.

Meanwhile, companies are shifting jobs and operations to states like Texas, Tennessee, Idaho, and Utah — places that actually want businesses to succeed instead of treating them like government piggy banks.

And here’s the problem Democrats refuse to admit: when wealthy taxpayers and businesses leave, the revenue leaves with them. That means Olympia politicians will inevitably come looking for new taxpayers to squeeze. The so-called “millionaires tax” threshold will disappear the second lawmakers need more money.

Governor Bob Ferguson is already trying to reassure voters that he’ll protect the exemption threshold, but businesses have heard promises like that before. The lack of predictability is exactly why confidence in Washington’s economy keeps eroding. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Sound Transit is moving forward with a major revision of its voter-approved ST3 plan, acknowledging a staggering $34.5 billion funding gap that forces the agency to scale back and delay multiple projects while still collecting taxes to pay for the original promises.

Under the new resolution, key light rail expansions are being cut, reduced, or pushed into the future — including parts of the West Seattle and Ballard lines — while only portions of the original 2016 vision remain fully funded. The agency is effectively reworking what voters approved to fit what it can actually afford, rather than delivering the full system that was sold to the public.

The shortfall is being spread across millions of taxpayers in the region through property taxes, sales taxes, and vehicle fees, with some estimates putting the burden at roughly $10,000 per resident within the district.

Of course, this reflects a long-running pattern: ambitious transit packages are passed with optimistic price tags, costs balloon, and projects are later reshaped after the taxes are already locked in. The concern now is that this “adjusted” plan is just another step in a cycle that leads to the next funding request before the current promises are ever fully delivered. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.