{"id":2532367,"date":"2026-01-10T16:58:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washington-governor-bob-ferguson-pressed-on-millionaire-tax\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T17:02:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T22:02:51","slug":"washington-governor-bob-ferguson-pressed-on-millionaire-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washington-governor-bob-ferguson-pressed-on-millionaire-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Governor Bob Ferguson pressed on millionaire tax"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwashington-governor-bob-ferguson-pressed-on-millionaire-tax%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2532367&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Washington Governor Bob Ferguson and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >state budget leaders head<\/a> into the legislative session debating a proposed &#8220;millionaire&#8221; income tax and whether Climate Commitment Act (CCA) revenue can be used for infrastructure. Ferguson reiterated support for a 9.9% tax on annual incomes over $1 million-projected to raise about $3 billion annually-but critics warn it might very well be a slippery slope toward a broader income tax and argue it won&#8217;t fix regressivity. Democrats call the proposal responsible and long-term, noting any revenue likely wouldn&#8217;t be available until about 2029 if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-to-ask-scotus-to-halt-texas-abortion-law\/\" title=\"DOJ to ask SCOTUS to halt Texas abortion law\">legal challenges proceed<\/a>; Republicans say last year&#8217;s $12 billion tax changes where regressive and fear capital flight and harm to small businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Ferguson&#8217;s supplemental budget seeks to close a roughly $2.3 billion gap using $1 billion from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ron-desantis-at-cpac-highlights-future-of-republican-party-moving-forward-dont-ever-back-down\/\" title=\"Ron DeSantis At CPAC Highlights Future Of Republican Party Moving Forward: \u2018Don\u2019t Ever Back Down\u2019\">rainy day fund<\/a> and about $800 million in cuts, while raising the operating budget to an estimated $79 billion per biennium. On transportation, Ferguson proposes $2.1 billion for preservation and maintenance over the next decade and suggests bonding against existing revenues rather than new taxes. Debate centers on whether CCA funds-currently barred from being spent on highways and bridges-should be tapped for such projects; Democrats want to reserve CCA revenue for climate mitigation, while Republicans push to broaden allowable uses amid recent infrastructure failures and questions about the accuracy of state emissions data. The issue is politically polarized and likely headed for judicial review if lawmakers pass a millionaire tax.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Washington Governor Bob Ferguson pressed on millionaire tax<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2468615\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square)&nbsp;&ndash; With the legislative session days away, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/budgets\/\">budget<\/a> leads on both sides of the aisle wrestled on Friday with the idea of using carbon tax revenue to address aging <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/policy\/infrastructure\/\">infrastructure<\/a> and the potentially slippery slope of passing a millionaire <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tax\/\">tax<\/a> after residents rejected an income tax&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.sos.wa.gov\/elections\/research\/income-tax-ballot-measures.aspx\">10<\/a>&nbsp;times.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington\/\">Washington<\/a> state lawmakers held multiple media availabilities with reporters on Friday ahead of the session&rsquo;s start on Monday. From the transportation and operating budget to House and Senate leads, Democrats and Republicans laid out their positions and priorities, with Gov. Bob Ferguson answering questions as well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance-and-economy\/4413253\/arizona-gop-plan-save-taxpayer-billion\/\">Arizona GOP plan projected to save taxpayers $1.1 billion<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4411389\/liberal-nonprofits-could-make-millions-from-earmarks-gop-spending-bill\/\">Liberal nonprofits could make millions from earmarks in GOP-backed spending bill<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4409962\/us-population-to-shrink-after-2056-cbo-says\/\">US population to start shrinking after 2056, CBO says<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Ferguson and the Democrat party&rsquo;s support for an income tax, or millionaire&rsquo;s tax, and their reluctance to use Climate Commitment Act funding for certain priorities dominated the conversation. Washington faces a&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/governor.wa.gov\/news\/2025\/governor-ferguson-announces-supplemental-budget\">$2.3 billion<\/a>&nbsp;gap this year after Ferguson signed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-unveils-2t-infrastructure-plan-tax-increases\/\" title=\"Biden unveils ...T ... plan, tax increases\">largest tax hike<\/a> in state history last spring.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Forty-one states have an income tax, and they&rsquo;ve survived,&rdquo; Ferguson responded Friday to a reporter.&#8203;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-operating-budget-panel-potential-millionaire-tax\">Operating Budget Panel: Potential &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; Tax<\/h2>\n<p>Last month, Ferguson laid out his supplemental budget proposal to address the deficit with&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/governor.wa.gov\/news\/2025\/governor-ferguson-announces-supplemental-budget#:~:text=Ending%20two%20tax,Rainy%20Day%20Fund.\">$1 billion<\/a>&nbsp;from the rainy fund and cutting about $800 million in spending, among other measures. If approved, it will increase the operating budget to $79 billion per biennium, surpassing last year&rsquo;s record spending.<\/p>\n<p>While he said the focus is on &ldquo;the nuts and bolts&rdquo; this year, he expressed support again on Friday for a &ldquo;millionaire tax.&rdquo; It&nbsp;would&nbsp;impose a new 9.9% tax on annual incomes over $1 million, generating about $3 billion annually.<\/p>\n<p>Some fear the idea could lead to a universal income tax later. When asked about it, one reporter called it an &ldquo;income tax,&rdquo; which Ferguson quickly corrected; however, he would not clarify whether he would support reducing the $1 million tax threshold in future years if this clears the court.&#8203;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t support [a threshold] less than $1 million a year,&rdquo; Ferguson said, before a reporter then asked if that meant during this session or any year in the future. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t answer any more clearer than that,&rdquo; Ferguson said. When pressed again, the governor repeated, &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t answer any more clearer than that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, and Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, who both chair their respective budget committees in the state House and Senate, called Ferguson&rsquo;s budget proposal &ldquo;responsible.&rdquo;&#8203;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, and Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, who both serve as ranking members on those budget committees, called it the opposite. They said Ferguson&rsquo;s budget doesn&rsquo;t balance out over the next four years. Republicans have said they were largely shut out of the last budget negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>The Democrat leads on the operating budget noted that revenue from a millionaire tax that could pass this year wouldn&rsquo;t be available until 2029 if it clears the courts. They said it&rsquo;s not a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inside-the-gop-plan-to-oppose-bidens-iran-deal\/\" title=\"Inside the GOP Plan to Oppose Biden\u2019s Iran Deal\">short-term solution<\/a> but could help address what they call a regressive tax structure in the long term. The Republicans said the $12 billion tax hike Ferguson signed last year is regressive, and that millionaires are the first step.&#8203;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any of us should ever call this a millionaires&rsquo; tax again, because we know where this is&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=1864872917473750\">heading<\/a>,&rdquo; Gildon said. &ldquo;They want to get it into the courts, they want to pass the income tax, let it work its way through the courts and then eventually expand it to each in every person in Washington.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Each party offered a different opinion on the idea of capital flight, that income taxes and last year&rsquo;s tax hike are encouraging the wealthy to leave the state. Ormsby said he sees no evidence of that, despite billionaire Jeff Bezos&rsquo; massive tax savings by leaving Washington state for fewer obligations in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Couture and Gildon say a millionaire or income tax won&rsquo;t fix regressivity in the state&rsquo;s tax structure and believe it could have major impacts on small businesses, too. The Washington Supreme Court will likely weigh in if Democrats pass it this year. Ormsby said he doesn&rsquo;t have any plans for a universal income tax and thinks the slippery slope argument isn&rsquo;t relevant to a millionaire tax that they will consider this year.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s focus on the policy that&rsquo;s in front of us, not speculate about what that means in the future,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That would come in the future, and it would go through the same scrutinizing and unpacking process that any legislation in any committee that has any fiscal impact whatsoever would go through.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-transportation-budget-panel-utilizing-cca-revenue\">Transportation Budget Panel: Utilizing CCA Revenue<\/h2>\n<p>Last month, the governor also proposed&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/governor.wa.gov\/news\/2025\/governor-ferguson-announces-historic-transportation-infrastructure-investments-preserve-maintain\">$2.1 billion<\/a>&nbsp;for preservation and maintenance in Washington&rsquo;s transportation budget over the next decade, a 34% increase. The announcement followed the closure of the historic bridges, deteriorating ferries, highway infrastructure and devastating natural disasters.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of funding the additional spending with more taxes, Ferguson wants to pay for it by bonding out the existing revenues approved last session. Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said it could be used for bridge repairs that last 80 years, but warned against using it for routine maintenance that may require more repairs by the time the state can pay them off.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, and ranking member of the Senate Transportation Committee, also warned about bonding out preservation work. Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said it&rsquo;s a little early to consider bonds, but he is willing to hear out Ferguson&rsquo;s proposal.&#8203;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I agree with Sen. King that we should only bond for things that are going to last longer than the bond period,&rdquo; Liias said. &ldquo;So, if the governor&rsquo;s proposal is to use bonded funds to replace some of the very old bridges that we have seen fail us in the last year, then I think there may be some value.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, and ranking member of the House Transportation Committee, wants to open up CCA revenue to fund some priorities this year. State law currently&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/ecology.wa.gov\/air-climate\/climate-commitment-act#:~:text=Under%20the%20law,with%20Tribal%20support.\">prohibits<\/a>&nbsp;spending that money on highways and bridges. The Republicans want to change that, noting that Ferguson proposed using some of it to fund the&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/workingfamiliescredit.wa.gov\/eligibility\">Working Family Tax Credit<\/a>, even though it&rsquo;s not an environmental program.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Ecology recently&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_c70afc51-e4ea-4997-bf2d-2d77afd71129.html\">acknowledged<\/a>&nbsp;that its climate emission data was highly&nbsp;inaccurate.&#8203;<\/p>\n<p>Liias still wants to save CCA revenue for projects that will help mitigate the impacts of climate change, but King said the long reroutes caused by the lack of preservation are also harming the environment.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4408875\/georgia-republicans-proposal-state-income-tax\/\">GEORGIA REPUBLICANS OUTLINE PROPOSAL TO PHASE OUT STATE INCOME TAX<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If Ferguson can use the CCA in the operating budget for tax credits, why not bridges, the Republicans questioned. The CCA is helping fund electrification of the state&rsquo;s ferry fleet, but amid significantly rising costs, Barkis suggested switching back to traditional fuels. Fey said leasing ferries could also work.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There will be a lot of scrambling between the operating and the transportation and others to utilize those [CCA] funds, and maybe they will reconsider,&rdquo; Barkis said, &ldquo;as somebody has said, temporarily those funds might be used for other things besides just the programs that have been put in place.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ferguson pushes millionaire tax, eyes carbon funds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2869,"featured_media":2532368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/78fd023efc4693fedde0c3db5dfadd20.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[33080,53968,38341,32667],"class_list":["post-2532367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-bob-ferguson","tag-millionaire-tax","tag-tax-policy","tag-washington-state"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/78fd023efc4693fedde0c3db5dfadd20.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2532367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2532367"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2532367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2532371,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2532367\/revisions\/2532371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2532368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2532367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2532367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2532367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}