Washington State Representative Jim Walsh argues against Dems’ income tax bill on the floor of the House.
It does not take a political genius to realize the greedy Democrats and Communists who own Washington State want to confiscate 9.9% of income from EVERY earner, retiree and business, regardless their level of income. Their power madness has reached the “we will never, never, never cut spending so we must, must, must take more money from the earners” stage. State Representative Jim Walsh who represents my legislative district, District 19, says the only thing standing between Washington families and a full state income tax is a single, freestanding section of the 1,208-section bill which was deliberately written to be easily removed.
FREESTANDING, REMOVAL SECTION
“Sec. 314. STANDARD DEDUCTION. In computing a taxpayer’s Washington taxable income, a taxpayer may deduct from the taxpayer’s Washington base income a standard deduction of $1,000,000 per individual, or in the case of spouses or state registered domestic partners, their combined standard deduction is $1,000,000, regardless of whether they file joint or separate returns. The amount of the standard deduction must be annually adjusted pursuant to section 316 of this act. The standard deduction must be adjusted for nonresidents as provided in section 315 of this act.”
Tonya Stadlman, a Republican candidate for the 44th Legislative District,^ laid out the financial math behind Washington Democrats’ 9.9% income tax on households earning over $1 million annually. Stadlman argued that the state is betting $3 billion in annual revenue on roughly 21,000 people who are already leaving.
DESIGNED TO BE DELETED
“The Ferguson-Pedersen state income tax scheme is 109 pages long,” Walsh wrote on X. “It has 1208 sections. A single section (314) sets the household income deduction. Sec 314 is short & not connected structurally to other sections. It’s designed to be deleted. The tax will apply to everyone in WA.”
That warning is not new from Walsh. He has previously told The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM that the threshold protecting households below $1 million exists in a single paragraph and that removing it requires only a future majority vote. Democrats own the majority. The architectural analysis of the bill’s 1,208 sections adds another layer of specificity: The one piece that limits the tax to millionaires is not woven into the bill’s structure. It is isolated, making it easy to excise without unraveling anything else.
THE MATH STADLMAN PUT ON BLAST
Stadlman spelled out what happens when the revenue model collapses. Washington ranks 45th in tax competitiveness according to the Tax Foundation, down from 33rd just six years ago. IRS data shows the state already lost $500 million in adjusted gross income in a single year. At the same time, 55% of Washington business leaders are considering leaving, a figure Stadlman noted was up from 44% the prior quarter.
The destinations of these escapees are predictable and include Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. These are all states without income taxes. “When you build a $3B budget on 21,000 people and they leave, the bill doesn’t disappear,” Stadlman wrote. “It gets passed down. To the small business owner. The dual-income family. The retiree. To you.”
CONSISTENT WARNINGS OF WHAT IS TO COME
That is precisely the progression Walsh has warned about since before the bill passed. Senate Majority Leader Democrat Jamie Pedersen, whose name Walsh attached to this “scheme,” has not credibly denied that the threshold was always meant to be a starting point. State Representative Democrat April Berg, incumbent in the 44th District,^ said on a recorded Zoom call that the millionaires tax is “the next incremental step” and, when asked whether the threshold will eventually drop, answered: “we’re getting there.”
Walsh is arguing Section 314 was written to stop them for as long as Democrats find it convenient and no longer.
Thank you to Jason Rantz with Seattle Red for the majority of the information in this article.
Follow me on X Diane L. Gruber
The Curley Effect: Why Democrat-Run Cities Are Collapsing
In this photo, Seattle’s first Marxist mayor, Katie Wilson, recently waved goodbye to the 54,200 millionaires who are a major part of the tax base in her city. While most have not left yet, many have or are making plans to do so. Her remarks since election make it clear that
^Washington’s 44th Legislative District is located in western Washington, occupying the south-central region of Snohomish County. Geographically, it sits mostly east of Everett and serves as a major suburban/exurban hub northeast of Seattle. The district encompasses several distinct cities, suburban areas, and unincorporated communities, including: Mill Creek, Snohomish, Maltby, Clearview, Echo Lake and parts of Everett, Lake Stevens, Marysville, & unincorporated pockets near Bothell and Woodinville. It is surrounded by several other Snohomish and King County legislative districts, including the 1st, 21st, 38th, 39th, and 45th districts.
The author, Diane L. Gruber, is a First Amendment advocate who writes for Substack. She calls her Substack newsletter America First Re-Ignited. Follow me on X @DianeLGruber.
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