ABOUT I-2109

I-2109 IS A TAX Cut FOR MEGA-MILLIONAIRES

I-2109 repeals a state extraordinary profits tax (capital gains) that does not apply to 99.8% of us. This initiative benefits just a few people - less than 4,000 - who make millions in profits off of stock sales.

Giving mega-millionaires, and billionaires, a tax cut will shift more tax pressure on the rest of us.

Fact sheet pdf

Just 0.2% of Washington households made enough money to pay the capital gains tax in 2022.

I-2109 benefits only the super-rich

Only a few, very wealthy, households pay Washington’s extraordinary profits tax. Nearly $900 million was raised by the extraordinary profits tax on fewer than 4,000 payers in just the first year. According to fiscal projections, I-2109 will cut more than $2.2 billion from childcare and education over the next 5 years. Washington’s extraordinary profits (capital gains) tax exemptions include:

  • all retirement accounts, such as IRAs

  • all real estate, including business property and vacation homes

  • small family businesses under $10 million

  • farms and livestock

  • timber and timberlands, commercial fishing rights

I-2109 slashes funding for childcare and schools

By law, money from the extraordinary profits tax must go to the state’s Education Legacy Trust Account (ELTA) which funds:

  • expanding affordable childcare and early education

  • special education for students with disabilities

  • technical and community colleges

  • repairing and replacing crumbling schools

I-2109 will slash more than $2.2 billion from these vital programs over just 5 years.

I-2109 Shifts Tax pressure to middle- and low-income families

I-2109 repeals a progressive tax, one that makes sure the wealthiest pay what they owe our communities.

It will make Washington’s tax system even more regressive, setting WA back to being the very worst in the country when it comes to tax fairness.

I-2109 will make our taxes even more unfair by shifting a bigger tax responsibility to low and middle income families, with the biggest impact on Black, brown, indigenous and other communities of color. 

I-2109 worsens our childcare CriSIS, HURTING PARENTS & BUSINESSES

Washington is in a childcare crisis, without enough affordable and accessible childcare for working parents. I-2109 will make this crisis worse, taking away much needed funding to expand childcare, and impacting working parents, especially women, who cannot get back into the workforce without access to affordable childcare.

Lack of childcare costs Washington’s businesses $2 billion each year as working parents struggle to find accessible, dependable care for this children.

fRequently Asked Questions

  • This initiative is funded by hedge fund millionaire Brian Heywood, who is likely to personally benefit if I-2109 passes.

  • I-2109 will not help small businesses or farm owners. Under the law, the sales of small family-owned businesses with less than $10 million in annual revenue, are already exempted. Sales of farm property, including real estate, are also already exempted.

    In fact, I-2109 will slash more than $5 billion from education and childcare, shifting tax pressure to small businesses and working families to make up the difference through sales, business and occupation (B&O), and property taxes.

  • No. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled the extraordinary profits tax is not an income tax and is constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the Washington court’s decision by rejecting an appeal.

  • Unless you sell off stocks worth millions, Washington’s extraordinary profits tax likely does not apply to you. It does not apply to stocks in retirement accounts or IRAs, real estate, farms, or small businesses. The tax threshold increases with inflation. For example, this year the tax applies to $262,000 or more in stock profits.

  • Despite a few anecdotes, the data shows people do not move solely because of taxes. The vast majority of states, including Idaho and Oregon, have some kind of capital gains tax that is broader and larger than Washington’s.