Letter: Put millionaires tax to a vote and cut the sales tax

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Olympia is fumbling the ball; again. First, deception won’t work, and I resent it! The millionaire’s tax is an income tax and requires a state constitutional amendment. Period.

Second, if an income tax is to be added, the only way to get a constitutional amendment passed is cutting the sales tax in half and putting a cap on it. “Oh no! We must not handcuff future legislatures!” Is the horrific outcry from the legislators for over 50 years I have lived here. Bologna! The sales tax is a percentage, not a fixed dollar amount. As prices go up, tax revenue goes up. There are no “handcuffs” unless our lawmakers just want to take more and more from those least able to pay, which they have been doing all this time.

Our sales tax started at 2 percent 90 years ago and now is almost 10 percent statewide with no end in sight. Our “progressive” state ranks third from the bottom in worst tax systems. The solution? Adding an income tax, yes, without deception, and cutting the sales tax, and putting a constitutional cap on it. This leaves plenty of room for future legislators to tinker with the income tax. But the horrible “flat tax” we all pay has to be put in a cage.

But guess why this has never been done. The wealthy in our state love our flat tax system. And who pays for our legislators’ campaign costs. Our system is beholding to money and the influence it has. Connect the dots, folks. And then take a hard look at Olympia.

Ron Friesen

Marysville