Washington Elimination of Tax Preferences for Manufacturing Advisory Vote No. 13 (2015)
| Advisory Vote 13 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Advisory question |
| Topic | Taxes |
| Status | Repealed  |
| Washington 2015 ballot |
|---|
| Initiative 1366 - Sales taxes |
| Initiative 1401 - Animals |
| Advisory 10 - Spill taxes |
| Advisory 11 - Marijuana |
| Advisory 12 - Gas taxes |
| Advisory 13 - Business taxes |
| All 2015 U.S. measures |
|---|
The Washington Elimination of Tax Preferences for Manufacturing Advisory Vote was on the ballot in Washington on November 3, 2015, as an advisory question. On the ballot, it was referred to as Advisory Vote No. 13.[1] A majority of voters voted in favor of repealing the bill.
| Voting "repealed" would have advised overturning the legislature's changes to manufacturer tax preferences. |
| Voting "maintained" would have advised leaving current laws unchanged and retaining current manufacturer tax preferences. |
Election results
| Washington Advisory No. 13 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Repealed | 903,222 | 63.41% | ||
| Maintained | 521,096 | 36.59% | ||
Election results via: Washington Secretary of State
Text of Measure
The official ballot title was:[2]
| “ | The legislature increased business and occupation tax revenues and excluded certain software manufacturers from a retail sales tax exemption, without a vote of the people, costing $1,449,000,000 for government spending.
This tax increase should be: ( ) Repealed ( ) Maintained[3] |
” |
Background
- See also: Washington Initiative 960
A provision of a 2007 ballot measure, Initiative 960, directly led to the placement of advisory votes on taxes on the ballot. Under that approved measure, a statewide advisory vote is required on all tax increases passed by the state Legislature. Initiative 960 was sponsored by Tim Eyman and originally required a two-thirds supermajority vote in the legislature or a legally binding vote of the people to approve any tax increases or eliminations of tax credits. Though the supermajority requirement was struck down by the Washington Supreme Court in 2013, the advisory vote clause was left intact.[4][5]
Support for "Repealed"
Organizations
- Pierce County Republican Party[6]
- We Believe-We Vote
Arguments in favor
We Believe-We Vote, a coalition of Christian citizens and community leaders who aim to give informed voter information to the faith-based community, said:[7]
| “ | B & O tax, which is a tax on gross income regardless of business expense, will now be charged on copyrights, patents, licenses, franchises, trademarks, and similar items. This punishes innovation.
In addition, B&O tax will be charged on sales of goods that originate outside the state. These are businesses that lack physical nexus to our state, but gross $267,000 or more in sales to Washington customers; $50,000 in payroll, or $50,000 in property in any calendar year. This punishes consumers and online businesses. Manufacturing machinery equipment for software manufacturers, including the development, sales, and licensing of computer software and services will no longer be exempt from B & O taxes. This punishes the computer manufacturing industry, which many WA State jobs depend on.[3] |
” |
Support for "Maintained"
Organizations
- Washington State Democratic Party[8]
- Spokane County Democrats[9]
Arguments in favor
The Progressive Voters Guide argued:[10]
| “ | A large majority of legislators voted to close $150 million in unnecessary tax loopholes in order to generate revenue for education funding. This legislation, Senate Bill 6138, passed the legislature 95 to 48 with 4 excused. Per Eyman’s initiative, the state legislature is required to submit any bill it passes that closes tax loopholes or raises revenue to a non-binding advisory vote. Vote to "maintain" this important measure.[3] | ” |
Path to the ballot
The measure was sent to the ballot via the aforementioned Initiative 960.
SB 6138
The bill that Initiative 960 referred to the ballot as an advisory question is Senate Bill 6138.
The bill was passed in the Washington State Senate on June 30, 2015, in a 35-to-10 vote. In the Washington House of Representatives, the bill was approved 60-to-38 on June 30, 2015. The Washington Governor signed the legislation on July 1, 2015.[11]
Senate vote
June 30, 2015, Senate vote
| Washington SB 6138 Senate Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 35 | 77.8% | ||
| No | 10 | 22.2% | ||
House vote
June 30, 2015, House vote
| Washington SB 6138 House Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 60 | 61.2% | ||
| No | 38 | 38.8% | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for Washington | ||
|---|---|---|
| Washington | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 7,160,290 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 66,456 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 77.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 7.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 5.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 12% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 32.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,062 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 14.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Washington
Washington voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Washington, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[12]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Washington had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Washington coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Washington
- United States congressional delegations from Washington
- Public policy in Washington
- Endorsers in Washington
- Washington fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Washington 2015 General Election Voters' Guide
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Non-binding tax advisory votes headed to WA ballot," July 23, 2015
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Voters' Guide," accessed October 7, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Olympian, "UPDATE - AG: Five tax measures qualify for advisory votes on November ballots," July 16, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedwasos - ↑ Pierce County Republican Party, "Initiatives," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ We Believe-We Vote, "Ballot Measures," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Jefferson County Democrats, "Advisory Votes 10,11, 12, 13," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ spokanecountydemocrats.org, "VOTE TO “MAINTAIN” ON ADVISORY MEASURES 10, 11, 12, & 13," October 16, 2015
- ↑ Progressive Voters Guide, "Washington 2015 General," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Washington Legislature, "HB 6138," accessed July 24, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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