ASMA KHALID, HOST:
As some states look to cut income taxes, there's another movement afoot in Washington State - to raise taxes on the wealthy. Jeanie Lindsay from member station KUOW in Seattle has more.
JEANIE LINDSAY, BYLINE: Democrat Jay Inslee has been the governor of Washington state since 2012. Now, as he prepares to leave office, he's making one final push for lawmakers to do what a handful of states are trying - a wealth tax.
JAY INSLEE: This wealth tax would put a modest 1% tax on the wealth of residents that exceeds $100 million. So this tax would only be on the excess over $100 million.
LINDSAY: Inslee's office says it could help cover an expected budget shortfall - more than $10 billion over four years for things like housing and education. Calls for the wealth tax have fizzled out before. But proponents say it has a chance now, after voters backed the current capital gains tax on a ballot initiative this November. Inslee also says his wealth tax would make the system more equitable in a state without an income tax. Revenue mainly comes from sales, business and property taxes.
INSLEE: Because our tax system has been very unfair to working people for 130 years.
LINDSAY: And Washington is home to wealthy tech executives and former CEOs, including Bill Gates. Other states have considered more taxes on the wealthy, and Massachusetts voters approved a new tax on income over $1 million a year. But more than two dozen states have been going the other way, pushing to cut income taxes over the last few years. And critics of Inslee's proposal say Washington is already taxing people and spending too much.
CHRIS GILDON: I just think discussions of generating additional revenue for the state are premature until we start taking a really good look at the spending side of the equation.
LINDSAY: That's Senator Chris Gildon, the top Republican on the state Senate's budget committee. He worries the proposal won't bring in as much money as the governor hopes and could drive wealthy job creators out of the state.
GILDON: They're not tied here. They're not stuck here. They can leave any time that they want.
LINDSAY: There's a new governor replacing Inslee in mid-January, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. He's also a Democrat, but Ferguson has said he wants to tighten up spending before considering new taxes. And he'll be the one with the final say over how the state balances its budget, though Inslee has joked he hopes the new governor still takes his calls.
For NPR News, I'm Jeanie Lindsay in Olympia, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.