Z-0282.1
HOUSE BILL 1319
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Street, Ormsby, and Macri; by request of Office of Financial Management
Read first time 01/15/25. Referred to Committee on Finance.
AN ACT Relating to enacting a wealth tax on the ownership of stocks, bonds, and other financial intangible property to fund programs and services to benefit Washingtonians; amending RCW 82.32.160 , 43.135.034 , and 82.32.655 ; adding a new Title to the Revised Code of Washington to be codified as Title 84A RCW; creating new sections; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. INTENT. The legislature finds that the state's general fund is used to provide essential services that touch every facet of Washington residents' lives. The state's general fund dollars support investments in K-12 education for over 1,100,000 students, early learning and child care, and postsecondary education, training, and financial aid. It supports the health and well-being of our state's residents through services for individuals with developmental disabilities and long-term care for elderly residents, low-income health care, and behavioral health services for those living with mental illness or substance use disorder. The state's general fund pays for salmon recovery, recreational opportunities on Washington's diverse and treasured public lands, and to prevent and fight wildfires threatening our forests, communities, and neighbors. It funds services for our most vulnerable residents and improving public safety in our communities, large and small. Therefore, the intent of this act is to maintain and preserve essential services for Washingtonians into the future through dedicating revenues from this act to the state's general fund.
The legislature further recognizes that Washington's tax system remains one of the most regressive systems in the nation, where middle-income families and those making the least contribute disproportionately more as a percentage of their income than top earners in the state. Washington has taken steps to improve the fairness of our tax system by enacting a capital gains excise tax and by funding the working families' tax credit program; however, Washington's tax system was still ranked the second most regressive in a 2024 distributional analysis of state and local tax systems by the institute on taxation and economic policy in spite of these improvements. More progress is needed for the state to have a fair and balanced tax system that works for all residents.