Washington leaders: Millionaires tax moving quickly; House to weigh additional tax reductions
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Summary
House and Senate leaders told reporters they expect the "millionaires" income‑tax measure to move rapidly through committees, that the House Finance Committee will likely increase targeted tax reductions, and that leaders prefer concurrence over conference if possible.
House Speaker Laura Jones and Senate Majority Leader Jamie Peterson said the proposed income tax on millionaires is moving quickly through the legislative process and that House Finance will consider a version with greater targeted tax reductions.
The leaders framed the measure as part of a compressed final stretch of the session and said they are seeking to balance revenue needs with relief for households and small businesses. Representative Joe Fitzgibbon, the House majority leader, said the House product will likely include "greater tax reductions" than the Senate's version to identify whom the leaders view as most helped by the changes.
Why it matters: leaders said rising costs for education, health care and state services — including shifts of locally funded school costs into the state budget after the McCleary litigation and higher labor and program costs — make new revenue necessary to protect basic services.
What leaders said: Fitzgibbon said he expects House Finance to propose changes that increase tax reductions from the Senate bill and described ongoing technical and operational amendments. Peterson said the Senate's consent calendar rules and committee processes mean sign‑in lists and remote sign‑in tallies are imperfect signals of controversy and that the two chambers are coordinating closely to avoid a conference committee if possible.
Details and outlook: leaders described the target range for tax reductions discussed in the briefing as moving from roughly 18–20% of the bill's revenue toward an eventual 25–40% band; Fitzgibbon said those numbers reflect negotiation about which tax reductions would best protect Washington residents. He said the goal, if feasible, is to pass a bill the Senate can concur on and send to the governor's desk rather than send the measure to a conference committee.
Next steps: House Finance is scheduled to act within days; leaders said additional floor amendments and technical fixes remain possible and that the exact final revenue and reduction figures will be set in committee and on the floor.
