Washington Initiative 69, Graduated Income Tax for School Funding Measure (1932)
| Washington Initiative 69 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Income taxes and Property taxes |
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| Status |
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| Type Initiated state statute |
Origin |
Washington Initiative 69 was on the ballot as an initiated state statute in Washington on November 8, 1932. The ballot measure was approved. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the ballot initiative was unconstitutional in Culliton v. Chase (1933).[1]
A "yes" vote supported establishing a graduated income tax ranging from 1.0% to 7.0%, with revenue allocated to the state current school fund to reduce or eliminate the annual state property tax levied to support that fund. |
A "no" vote opposed establishing a graduated income tax ranging from 1.0% to 7.0%, with revenue allocated to the state current school fund to reduce or eliminate the annual state property tax levied to support that fund. |
Election results
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Washington Initiative 69 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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322,919 | 70.21% | ||
| No | 136,983 | 29.79% | ||
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- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Aftermath
On September 8, 1933, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that Initiative 69 violated the state constitution's clause that "all taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property..." The court held that income is property under the state constitution, and because the constitution requires taxes on the same class of property to be uniform, an income tax could not have graduated rates. The order stated:[1]
| “ | Income is either property under our fourteenth amendment, or no one owns it. If that is true, any one can use our incomes who has the power to seize or obtain them by foul means. There being no other classifications in our constitution but real and personal property and intangible property, incomes necessarily fall within the category of intangible property. No more positive, precise and compelling language could have been used than was used in those words of our fourteenth amendment. It needs no technical construction to tell what those words mean. The overwhelming weight of judicial authority is that "income" is property and a tax upon income is a tax upon property.[2] | ” |
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Initiative 69 was as follows:
| “ | An Act relating to and requiring the payment of a graduated tax on the incomes of persons, firms, corporations, associations, joint stock companies and common law trusts, the proceeds therefrom to be placed in the state current school fund and other state funds, as a means of reducing or eliminating the annual tax on general property which now provides revenues for such funds; providing penalties for violation; and making an appropriation from the general fund of the state treasury for paying expenses of administration of the act. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
In Washington, proponents needed to collect a number of signatures for an Initiative to the People.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Washington Supreme Court, "Culliton v. Chase," September 8, 1933
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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