Conservative-backed group Let’s Go Washington announced Friday it will begin gathering signatures to put a repeal of the so-called “millionaires tax” on ballots this November. The move comes just days after the state Supreme Court dismissed the group’s lawsuit challenging the tax.
“We’ll be doing everything we can to ensure that voters understand exactly what’s at stake and that their income isn’t safe from the intaxicated [sic] majority party trying to take their cut,” Darren Littell, a spokesperson for Let’s Go Washington said in a press release, echoing state Republicans and other opponents of the law who say the tax could expand to lower income brackets in future years.
The income tax was passed by the state Legislature’s majority Democrats earlier this year and slices nearly 10% off household incomes over $1 million. Revenue generated from the tax would go toward padding the state’s budget and funding child care and other social services. It also would give sales tax breaks on consumer hygiene products like shampoo and deodorant, as well as some over-the-counter medications. If it survives efforts to overturn it, the measure would begin collecting revenue for the state in 2029.
Let’s Go Washington CEO and millionaire hedge fund founder Brian Heywood had earlier been non-committal about whether his group would pursue a repeal of the law via an initiative for this November or for next year. In an interview Monday, he said he had decided to pursue repeal as soon as possible.
“I think that the ballot needs to be had this year,” Heywood said.
Anti-tax advocate Tim Eyman had recently warned that a repeal effort of the tax on 2026 ballots would not be strategic. Eyman said recent polling on the tax showed that only 33% of voters would repeal the tax if an initiative was brought against it this November, according to The Seattle Times. Separate polling from October to December 2025 consistently showed similar results — that at least 60% of Washington voters would choose to uphold the tax.
Heywood said his group has done further polling about the language of how a repeal initiative is structured. He said his polling has found that while voters support the tax if it highlights taxing the rich, 60% of voters will uphold the law. But he said if phrasing is changed to highlight concerns that the tax might eventually become an income tax for all Washingtonians, polling favors a repeal.
“As soon as you ask people, ‘Is this coming for you?’ it switches back 60-40% the other way,” Heywood added.
For a repeal initiative to be on the November ballot, Let’s Go Washington would need to gather over 300,000 signatures by July 2. Had the group been able to file a referendum to repeal the tax, it would only have needed about half the number of signatures to put it to voters – but the state Supreme Court this week struck down the group’s lawsuit that aimed to challenge language in the law, preventing a referendum. Both a referendum and an initiative would give voters a chance to repeal the new law, but doing so via a referendum would have been easier.
State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle), who sponsored the law, said earlier this week that he was expecting an initiative campaign against the tax.
“Ultimately, I think the people of Washington understand how broken and upside-down our tax structure is and they will welcome this opportunity to make it better,” Pedersen said.
Invest in Washington Now, a progressive tax reform group, said in a statement that it also felt confident voters would uphold the law.
“If hedge fund mega-millionaire Brian Heywood and Let’s Go Washington move ahead to try to repeal the Millionaires Tax intended to make life a little more affordable for 99% of Washingtonians, voters will once again reject his ballot initiative,” Kristin Hyde, press secretary for Invest in Washington Now wrote.
A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the tax, brought by former Attorney General Rob McKenna, has been filed and is awaiting a decision from the Superior Court in Klickitat County. It’s expected this lawsuit will eventually make its way to the state Supreme Court for a final decision.
