A group called ‘Opportunity for Olympia’ has announced it managed to collect enough petition signatures to get its clearly unconstitutional income tax initiative authorized. As Shift reported, the initiative would create a 1.5 percent tax on household income in excess of $200,000.
Supporters promise the tax would only impact Olympia’s “wealthiest households to generate college tuition money for all local high school graduates.” They also say the scheme would raise about $2.5 million a year and estimate the income tax would be imposed on about 750 households in Olympia city limits.
The success of Opportunity for Olympia means that Olympia City Council members would have to pass the measure or send it on to the public for a yes-or-no vote.
For Olympia councilmembers, the two choices create a lose-lose situation.
Mayor pro tem Nathaniel Jones put it this way, “… We can’t modify it, we can’t adjust it, we really don’t want to adopt it so we must send it to the voters. And we are concerned about the language in it, we think that it really doesn’t stand a legal chance.”
Of course, a legal challenge is exactly what the far-Left supporters of the initiatives want. As supporters of the plan have admitted, this measure has nothing to do with paying for kids’ college tuition. Ultimately, supporters hope that the current ultra-liberal Supreme Court would abandon decades of legal precedent and allow an income tax statewide.
The council will vote on how to deal with the initiative this week. We will keep you updated.
WA State should research TNpromise.org 2 years of free community college or trade school paid by the TN lottery not tax payers. I’m a mentor to 4 students. In it’s second year and very successful. Oh, BTW TN is a red state.
I missed the part where it says anyone is entitled to a free commnity college education.
Further, given what else the lottery funds at this point, where do you propose to cut in our budget to make up for the shortfall?>
What does the lottery fund currently? To be clear, I’m not saying that anyone is entitled to a free community college education. TN students have to qualify and part of that is grade point and community service.
Olympians: Even if you don’t have to pay the tax, you will have to fill out the paperwork and file it with the city. How much of the $2.5 million expected income will have to be paid used for the administration of the income tax records, processing, assistance, and collections? I doubt much of the income will actually make it to any tuition payments.
“Allow an income tax statewide?”
How many times have the people voted this insanity down?
Like most leftists, they don’t seem to give a damn what the people want.
This thing is unconstitutional on it’s face. What will this morons come up with next?
What happens when all those people move out of town? I realize there are other motives, so that must include taxing those who make less eventually.