No I-2109 Campaign Launch Makes News Across WA
Parents, teachers, small business owners, and childcare providers launched a statewide campaign to defeat I-2109, making news from Vancouver to Spokane. Here are some highlights:
Childcare centers, parents and advocates launch 'No on I-2109' campaign
Erica Zucco - KING 5 (5/22/2024)
Diana Llanes runs a daycare and preschool serving families she says would be impacted were the tax repealed.
"If the funding ends it will affect families, and it will affect businesses, my small business, and I won't be able to provide work for my staff," Llanes said.
Many parents have cited the difficulty finding childcare already, with the fear it will become even less accessible if the tax is repealed.
Puget Sound leaders oppose new WA capital gains tax bill creating controversy
Louie Tran - KIRO 7 News (5/22/2024)
Suzette Espinoza-Cruz said many at-risk families depend on state funding to pay for childcare in order to work and provide for their loved ones.
She said this bill could put many working families in danger.
“It would be very difficult for us to survive, and we would have to rely on state support like food stamps, and housing vouchers, which are very hard to come by. I wouldn’t be able to pay taxes and put money back into the economy to keep our economy going if I had to pull out of work,” she told KIRO 7 News.
Opponents of initiative to repeal WA capital gains tax hit campaign trail
Carleen Johnson - Everett Post/The Center Square (5/23/2024)
The money generated by the tax goes to childcare subsidies, bonuses for childcare centers, early learning programs and school construction.
“What’s really at stake is hundreds of millions of dollars to support childcare and early learning and 2109 seeks to take that away, and line the pockets of the wealthiest Washingtonians,” said Treasure Mackley.
“We are a broad coalition of organizations and people from all across the state. We have educators and childcare providers, Save the Children and others dedicated to fighting for our children and schools in every corner of the state.”
Campaign against I-2109, which repeals the capital gains tax, launched across Washington (also on Yahoo)
Nia Wong - FOX 13 Seattle (5/23/2024)
If the initiative passes, Dr. Blanford says it will ultimately hurt students and families.
“This is a step moving us in the right direction, and to have it taken away by the wealthiest people in the state seems fundamentally wrong.”
Rep. Monica Stonier, Clark County educators rally to protect Washington capital gains tax
Griffin Reilly & Chrissy Booker - The Columbian (5/23/2024)
A 2023 study of Educational Opportunities for Children and Families’ programs found just 42 percent of eligible Clark County children are receiving critical early-learning services. Rekah Strong, Educational Opportunities for Children and Families CEO, said that losing the tax would drive that number down even more.
“We’re already trying to keep our necks above water,” Strong said. “Fifty percent of my staff are people of color. There are direct impacts on the most marginalized individuals, and the little bit we have to uplift and support them will be taken away.”
Campaign kicks off to save Washington's capital gains tax
Catharine Smith - KUOW (5/22/2024)
Democratic state Rep. Tana Senn (D–Mercer Island) would like to save it. She said revenue from the tax funds school construction and child-care programs. She argues that just a few Washingtonians are subject to the capital gains tax.
"What we need to really emphasize is that less than 4,000 people in our state pay this tax and maybe a handful in Eastern Washington," Senn said. "These dollars go across our state.
