September 16, 2024
In this issue:
- Washington ballot initiatives lose ground with voters in new poll
- I-2109 trades children’s futures for a tax break for the richest .2% Washingtonians
- I-2109 aims to repeal capital gains tax; revenues go to child care, school construction
- Opponents of repealing capital gains tax highlight its role funding schools & child care
- IRS says it has recovered $1.3 billion in unpaid taxes from rich Americans
It’s back-to-school season – a time of year that highlights just how crucial the capital gains tax is for our state. As students head back to the classroom, we’re ramping up the fight against I-2109, the initiative that would repeal the capital gains tax.
Brand new polling shows that when voters see the impact that I-2109 would have on child care, education, and Washington’s economy, the majority would vote NO on I-2109. That’s good news! But it also means that it’s more important than ever to make sure every Washington voter knows what’s at stake when their ballot arrives.
The capital gains tax has funded 171 much-needed school construction projects so students can learn in safe environments. It’s created thousands of child care slots so working parents don’t have to leave their careers. And every dollar invested in child care and education multiplies in our communities, expanding our economy.
As we keep fighting to protect the capital gains tax, your support is critical. Donate to the NO on I-2109 campaign to make sure every voter knows to vote NO on I-2109 this fall – and stay tuned for more ways to take action soon!
-Treasure
WASHINGTON BALLOT INITIATIVES LOSE GROUND WITH VOTERS IN NEW POLL
“The latest Cascade PBS/Elway poll was conducted statewide Sept. 3-6 with 403 registered voters. Support for three of the ballot measures has waned since the previous Cascade PBS/Elway poll conducted in May. Unlike the May poll, when ballot language for the initiatives was not yet available, this poll included the exact language of the ballot measures. Polling also included information about how the repeal of the measures would impact state funding and government programs.
A majority of polled voters, 52%, said they would vote No on I-2109, an initiative to repeal the capital gains tax, with 30% saying they would vote Yes to eliminate the 7% tax on profits over $250,000 from the sale of assets including stocks, bonds and mutual funds. In the May poll, 46% said they would vote Yes on I-2109, while 36% said they would vote No.
Lexi Koren, a spokesperson for the NO on 2109 Campaign, said that these latest polling numbers show that the messaging about the initiative to repeal the capital gains tax is resonating with voters. However, we are taking nothing for granted, she said. Our opponents are running a campaign to deliberately mislead voters about what I-2109 does. That’s why we’re ramping up our voter contact efforts with just a few weeks before ballots go out.”
More – Shauna Sowersby, Cascade PBS
I-2109 TRADES CHILDREN’S FUTURES FOR A TAX BREAK FOR THE .2% RICHEST WASHINGTONIANS
“As Seattle students returned to the classroom, advocates stood outside of the construction site of the new Tyee High School to remind the voting public that a rich hedge fund guy wants to gut public education funding by an extraordinary $2.2 billion over five years to give the very wealthiest few Washingtonians a tax break—urging anyone who cares about public education, school construction, childcare, and early learning to vote no on I-2109 in November.
The future’s of students and young, brilliant minds across the state should never be traded for an extra zero on the super rich’s pay, said high school senior Jurnee Robinson at a press conference in front of the SeaTac school.
And school funding does not just benefit students, it benefits workers too. Andrea Ornelas, Assistant Political Director at Laborers 242, spoke about the job opportunities the capital gains tax has created. Recent analysis forecasts that repealing the capital gains tax would result in 10,000 job losses and a $1.2 billion reduction to state personal income every year.”
More – Hannah Kreig, The Stranger
I-2109 AIMS TO REPEAL CAPITAL GAINS TAX; REVENUES GO TO CHILD CARE, SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
“If passed, Initiative 2109 would repeal the 7% tax on annual capital gains of over $262,000 for individuals, as of 2023. This revenue comes from the exchange of stocks, bonds, other investments or tangible assets. It does not apply to real estate sales.
In 2023, the tax generated $786 million in revenue. More than $6 million of revenue from the tax has come to Whatcom County and more than $2.5 million in Skagit County for child care providers and school construction projects. Only 55 people in Whatcom and 37 people in Skagit had to pay taxes on their capital gains in Fiscal Year 2023.
Revenue from the the first two fiscal years of the tax created an estimated 170 child care/pre-K slots in Whatcom County, funded $702,597 worth of child care provider grants and funded two school construction projects totaling $5,451,593. In Skagit, the funds created an estimated 154 child care/pre-K slots and provided $324,280 worth of grants to child care providers. Four school construction projects, totaling $2.29 million, were funded through the tax revenue.”
More – Charlotte Alden, Cascadia Daily
OPPONENTS OF REPEALING CAPITAL GAINS TAX HIGHLIGHT ITS ROLE FUNDING SCHOOLS & CHILD CARE
“As back-to-school season starts, opponents of a ballot initiative to repeal Washington’s capital gains tax [I-2109] are highlighting how losing the money could undermine school construction and child care programs. Our youth are struggling, said state Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, who sponsored one of many proposals to tax wealthy individuals in 2021, the year lawmakers passed the capital gains tax. We need to use every tool we can to support them.
Money from the capital gains tax has gone to fund 171 school construction projects across the state during the 2023-25 fiscal year, according to the Washington State Budget & Policy Center. Estimates show eliminating the tax would drain a total of $2.2 billion over five state fiscal years, according to a fiscal impact statement prepared by the Office of Financial Management.
The Budget & Policy Center also credits the capital gains tax with contributing to a roughly $350 million increase in state funding for child care and early learning programs in the current two-year budget. Diana Llanes Macias, who operates a family home day care and bilingual preschool, said that if the tax is repealed, as many as half of the families she works with will no longer be able to afford child care.”
More – Grace Deng, Washington State Standard
IRS SAYS IT HAS RECOVERED $1.3 BILLION IN UNPAID TAXES FROM RICH AMERICANS
“The IRS said Friday that it has recovered $1.3 billion in unpaid taxes from high-income Americans who had either failed to file their returns or who hadn’t fully paid what they owed. The announcement, made jointly with the U.S. Treasury Department, aimed at highlighting the agency’s ramped-up enforcement efforts against tax cheats.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in prepared remarks: Between 2010 and 2018, the audit rate for millionaires fell by 80%. As audit rates on high-income taxpayers fell, the share of audits on taxpayers with incomes under $200,000 increased. In 2019, the top 1% of Americans was estimated to owe over one-fifth of unpaid taxes, leaving ordinary Americans to shoulder the burden.
Yellen said the IRS is pursuing 125,000 wealthy taxpayers who haven’t filed taxes in years.”
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