Well, this sounds insane:

The legislation would impose a 9.9% tax on individual income above $1 million, effective January 1, 2028. That start date is one year earlier than the draft KIRO Newsradio first reported on last week. Only income exceeding the $1 million threshold would be taxed at that rate.

Revenue from the tax would be deposited as follows: 5% to the county public defense funding stabilization account, with the remainder going to the state general fund to support sales tax relief, the Working Families Tax Credit program, and business and occupation tax relief.

95% of the tax money goes into the fun money pot (the general fund). Give 'em a few years and the South Park meme comes true: aaaaaaaand it's gone.

Democrats claim the bill would generate $3.7 billion annually and that fewer than 1% of the state’s wealthiest households would pay the tax.

Generate = take from those who pay the tax

Ferguson noted the plan does too little to return money directly to taxpayers. Under the current proposal, he says only about 7% — roughly $230 million — would go back to residents.

“A significant percentage of the revenue must, must, go directly back into the pockets of Washingtonians,” Ferguson said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “My focus will be that we are listening and hearing the voices of many, many Washingtonians who are struggling right now.”

If I lived in WA, I wouldn't have to pay this tax. But it still doesn't make sense to me. On what grounds should one group of people get to forcefully take another group's money? It seems that the only qualifying factor is success...which is even worse!

And here's Ferguson acting like it's all good if the money is given directly to other people ("return" is really not the right word for this...). If the state wants to actually return money to some taxpayers, why not spend less and give that money back to the people who paid it. Taking more money from someone else to give it to other people is crazy-talk. They aren't even proposing this on a "we need the money" basis.

Are they not aware that people can move?