OLYMPIA, Wash. — The chair of the Washington House Finance Committee says a public hearing on the proposed “millionaires tax” drew the expected mix of strong support and sharp criticism, but she now says the public sign-in process itself may have been manipulated.
Rep. April Berg (D) Everett, chaired a roughly two-hour House Finance hearing and heard from backers and opponents, describing moments as “a little spicy” and saying she would have preferred “a little less vitriol.”
But she disputes that over 100,000 people signed up to participate, heavily weighted against the tax.
Berg said she was contacted ahead of the hearing by people who said their names were listed even though they did not register, or were listed under a position they did not take. She said that grew from a handful of reports into something far larger by the weekend, prompting staff to search for exact duplicates and other irregularities.
Berg said staff found more than 19,000 exact duplicate entries, and the issue “calls into question” part of the democratic process of testimony. She says lawmakers have asked the House Clerk and Attorney General to investigate any impropriety. The Snohomish County Democrat, along with most of her colleagues, approved an initiative just two years ago that called for an outright ban on future income taxes.
The “Millionaires Tax” legislation, approved by the State Senate last week, is expected to be amended by her committee, and Berg believes a vote on the House floor could take place next week. Yet, she expects, as does Governor Bob Ferguson, that there will be a legal and initiative challenge to the tax proposal.
When asked if she thought it was correct to include the income tax in the House and Senate budgets with the expectation of a challenge, Berg said, “I do,” she continued, “Folks say, hey, we don’t think this is legal. They have a right to adjudication going before our courts to argue their case.”
“At this moment, as a policy maker, as a chair of house, finance, as a legislator, I believe this bill is absolutely legal,” she said.
There were suggestions in advance of the meeting that the bill could have impacts on professional sports franchises and players. An NFL Player’s Association representative was slated to testify during the hearing, but did not appear for reasons that are unknown.
“Forty-one other states have an income tax. 41 other states have a tax similar to this on high earners in their state. I think that argument just does not hold water. That is like saying that we clearly don’t have professional sports in California, which has a much more aggressive income tax. New York has a much more aggressive income tax than us. Illinois. I mean, the list goes on,” she said. “We are the outlier at this moment. I think we’re going to be just fine recruiting very talented athletes across the board with this tax, just as those other 41 states are as well.”