Washington state's 'millionaires tax' is upheld as Initiative 645 fails

Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times on Nov 5, 2026

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SEATTLE — Washington’s high-earners income tax has withstood an effort to repeal it, as backers of Initiative 645 conceded defeat.

I-645 had trailed since election night, with about 58% of voters opposing the measure seeking to repeal the so-called “millionaires tax.”

On Thursday, initiative backers conceded the gap of more than 350,000 votes could not be overcome.

“While the income tax outcome is not what we hoped for, our fight to protect Washington taxpayers from Bob Ferguson’s continuous cash grab is far from over,” said Brian Heywood, the Redmond hedge fund manager who leads Let’s Go Washington, the conservative group that put the initiative on the ballot, in a statement Thursday.

The result clears the way for the 9.9% tax on household incomes of more than $1 million to start as planned in 2028, with the first collections due in 2029.

But a legal challenge could still stop it from taking effect. A lawsuit filed by business owners is pending in Klickitat County Superior Court and the issue is expected to eventually make its way to the state Supreme Court.

Steve Gordon, the trucking business owner who led the Yes on I-645 campaign said in an interview the outcome was not what he’d hoped for, and that he’s getting calls from initiative campaign donors asking advice on which state to move to now that the tax has been upheld.

“There are people leaving now,” he said. “It’s not the tax itself — it’s stacked on top of all the other things people in this state are fighting.”

I-645 opponents — who dismissed claims of a widespread exodus due to the tax — had essentially declared victory on election night, as the vote count showed their side with a big lead.

“These election results are a definitive statement from the voters of Washington that they support making our tax code more fair, and that they reject cuts to education, healthcare, and childcare,” said No on I-645 campaign spokesperson Erik Houser, in a statement.

“Hedge fund mogul Brian Heywood and a few wealthy friends tried to cut their own taxes and put at risk efforts to reform our tax code, including putting at risk meaningful tax breaks for working and middle class families and for 140,000 small businesses. Voters saw through their fearmongering and said No,” Houser added.

The Democratic-majority Legislature passed the tax after a marathon debate earlier this year, and Ferguson signed it into law in March, immediately triggering the initiative challenge.

The Yes on I-645 campaign was badly outspent during the campaign, as big businesses including Microsoft sat on the sidelines and didn’t support the tax repeal effort. Backers raised about $3.9 million.

Opponents, led by public sector unions, poured more than $13 million into the campaign to defeat the initiative.

While more votes remain to be counted, the initiative was badly trailing in all of the state’s most populous areas, including King, Pierce, Snohomish and Spokane counties. It led across most of Central and Eastern Washington’s more rural stretches.