Washington Prohibit Income Taxes and Repeal Capital Gains Tax Initiative (2023)
| Washington Prohibit Income Taxes and Repeal Capital Gains Tax Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 7, 2023 | |
| Topic Taxes | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Washington Prohibit Income Taxes and Repeal Capital Gains Tax Initiative was not on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the Legislature, a type of indirect initiated state statute, on November 7, 2023.
This initiative was designed to prohibit a state or local income tax and repeal the 7% capital gains tax on the sale of long-term assets for individuals with annual capital gains over $250,000.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the initiative was as follows:[1]
| “ | Initiative Measure No. 1499 concerns taxes.
This measure would prohibit the state, counties, cities, and towns from imposing or collecting taxes it describes as “based on personal income,” and repeal a tax on sales of certain capital assets. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ] [2] |
” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for the initiative was as follows:[1]
| “ | This measure would prohibit the state, counties, cities, and towns from imposing or collecting taxes it describes as “based on personal income,” construed broadly. The prohibition would apply whether the tax is imposed on taxpayers or on taxpayers’ employers and whether called income, payroll, or excise taxes. It would repeal a tax imposed on the sale or exchange of certain long-term capital assets by individuals who have annual capital gains of over $250,000, with exemptions. | ” |
Full text
The full text is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Washington, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirectly initiated state statute—called an Initiative to the Legislature in Washington—for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor at the last regular gubernatorial election. Initial filings for indirect initiatives cannot be made more than 10 months before the regular session at which their proposal would be presented to lawmakers. Signatures must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the beginning of the legislative session in the year of the targeted election.
The requirements to get an Initiative to the Legislature certified for the 2023 ballot:
- Signatures: 324,516 valid signatures
- Deadline: December 30, 2022
The secretary of state verifies the signatures using a random sample method. If the sample indicates that the measure has sufficient signatures, the measure is certified to appear before the legislature. If the legislature does not approve the measure, it is certified to appear on the ballot. However, if the sample indicates that the measure has insufficient signatures, every signature is checked. Under Washington law, a random sample result may not invalidate a petition.
Details about this initiative
- Joel Ard filed the initiative. Ard confirmed to Ballotpedia on July 20, 2022, that he would not be collecting signatures for the initiatives he filed.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Washington Secretary of State, "Proposed Initiatives to the 2023 Legislature," accessed July 11, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia Staff, email communication with Joel Ard, July 20, 2022
 |
State of Washington Olympia (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2026 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
