What's the Matter with Washington State?

[ErikJ]

75. Ironic because the income tax proposal was initiated by Bill Gates

Bill Gates Sr. that is, but with the endorsement of Bill Jr. . Other Washington billionaires were against it though. It was soundly defeated with millions in anti-tax propaganda ads.

In Oregon we raised our income tax on the rich about the same time. Bill Knight of Nike, another multi-billionaire, was fear-mongering to move if we did. Oregonians werent intimidated and it passed by a good margin.

The Washington Income Tax, Initiative 1098 appeared on the November 2, 2010 ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the People where it was defeated.
According to the state's ballot summary, the measure would have established a tax on "adjusted gross income" above $200,000 for individuals and $400,000 for married couples or domestic partners filing jointly. Additionally, the measure would have reduced the limit on statewide property taxes by 20% and increased the business and occupation (B&O) tax credit to $4,800.[3]
The revenue generated from the income tax would have gone to a dedicated trust fund for education and health services.[3][4] It was estimated that the proposed initiative would have generated $2 billion per year, according to the Office of Financial Management.[5][6]
Initiative 1098 was certified by the election officials on July 15, 2010 following a 3 percent random check. Of the 11,786 signatures reviewed, 10,090 were accepted.[7]
Election results

See also: 2010 ballot measure election results
Washington Initiative 1098 (Income Tax)
Result Votes Percentage
No 1,616,273 64.15%
Yes 903,319 35.85%