Income tax initiative heading to ballot

OLYMPIA — A voter initiative seeking to impose an income tax on Washington state’s wealthier residents is headed to the November ballot.

The state Elections Division says Initiative 1098 qualifies for a spot on the ballot after a check of roughly petition signatures collected by the campaign. It’s the third of six possible initiatives to qualify.

Authorities are still investigating a possible case of signature fraud on a small number of petitions supporting I-1098. Those petitions were kept out of the pool that officials tested for qualification.

I-1098 would impose an income tax on high earners, while reducing state property taxes and expanding tax credits for small businesses.