Former WA AG argues in legal memo proposed income tax is illegal

(The Center Square) – Former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna has issued a legal memo arguing that a proposed tax on millionaires is unconstitutional, citing the state Constitution and a century’s worth of unanimous court rulings that income is property.

Senate Bill 6346 introduced this session, would impose a 9.9% levy on personal income over $1 million, or on combined household income of more than $1 million. On Monday, the state Senate voted 27 in favor and 22 opposed.

Since the 1930s, a progressive income tax has been declared illegal by the State Supreme Court under various rulings on the basis of the 14th Amendment to the Washington Constitution approved by voters in the 1930 election.

Prior to that, the state had a property tax, but the rate had to be “uniform and equal” and it did not account for differentiate between property types.

The amen...