Washington Millionaire Tax Repeal Is on the November 2026 Ballot — Here’s What’s at Stake
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On March 30, 2026, Governor Bob Ferguson signed SB 6346 into law. The new law imposes a 9.9% tax on households earning annual income that exceeds $1 million (see our prior discussion). The law takes effect January 1, 2028, with initial payments due April 2029. The State expects that the “Millionaire’s Tax” will raise more than $3 billion per year.
Since the signing of the Millionaire Tax into law, opposition to the law has been trying to find ways to invalidate or repeal it. One way is to bring a lawsuit and argue the law is unconstitutional. Another way is to repeal the law through a citizen ballot initiative. The Washington millionaire tax repeal will be on the ballot on November 3, 2026.
The push for a Washington millionaire tax repeal has been led by hedge fund founder Brian Heywood and his political action committee Let’s Go Washington. The group gathered over 500,000 signatures to put the repeal question before voters in fall 2026. The Washington Secretary of State’s office, which verified the signatures, said over 82% were valid.
What a YES or NO Vote on the Washington Millionaire Tax Repeal Means
A YES vote supports repealing the Millionaire Tax and prohibiting future taxes on income.
A NO vote opposes the repealing of the Millionaire Tax.
How Repeal Would Affect Washington B&O and Sales Tax Relief
Repeal would not affect the Millionaire Tax alone. SB 6346 paired the millionaire tax with relief on the state Business & Occupation (B&O) and sales and use taxes, most notably more than doubling the B&O small business tax credit (so businesses with gross receipts under $300,000 owe no B&O tax, and those up to $600,000 receive the credit, beginning in 2028) and repealing the sales/use and retailing B&O tax on certain business-to-business services added by ESSB 5814 in 2025 (including IT support and training, custom software, security services, and temporary staffing), beginning in 2029. These relief provisions are contingent on the Millionaire Tax surviving: SB 6346 provides that, should a court of final jurisdiction invalidate the Millionaire Tax, the B&O and sales tax changes become null and void. The statutory contingency is written around a court invalidation rather than the citizen ballot initiative, so whether a successful Washington millionaire tax repeal at the ballot box likewise unwinds the B&O and sales tax relief depends on the initiative’s own language.
KBF SALT will monitor developments on the Washington millionaire tax repeal and provide updates. For specific guidance, please reach out to the KBF SALT Team:
George Rendziperis – grendziperis@kbfadvisory.com
Nick McMahon – nmcmahon@kbfadvisory.com
Andrew Cole – acole@kbfadvisory.com