Washington gubernatorial candidate Bob Ferguson defended the state's capital gains tax, emphasizing its vital role in funding education, as a Republican-backed ballot initiative seeks to repeal it.
Ferguson, currently Washington's Democratic attorney general, said the tax not only generates revenue for early learning and schools but also shifts part of the tax burden to the wealthiest residents. Without an income tax, Washington has one of the
"I think at the end of the day, the voters of Washington State will reject the repeal of the capital gains tax because they're going to see and understand that hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that are generated from that capital gains tax are being invested in early learning, in childcare, in school construction all across our state," Ferguson said in an interview on Tuesday on BTV's "Balance of Power."
Supporters of the repeal effort include money manager Brian Heywood, who argues that the tax is harming Washington's business climate. He has donated nearly $7 million in cash and in-kind contributions to the
Since its implementation in 2022, Washington has imposed a 7% tax on capital gains exceeding $250,000, which raised $900 million in its first year.
The levy, paid by the top 0.2% of Washington residents, withstood legal challenges in the state Supreme Court. The November ballot will now ask voters whether they want to end the tax.
Ferguson is running against Republican Dave Reichert, the former King County sheriff and U.S. congressman. In the August top-two primary, Ferguson won 45% of the vote, while Reichert
"I feel I'm as qualified as anyone running for statewide office across the country to know how to deal with a Trump administration, know how to stand up to that Trump administration," said Ferguson, citing his challenge in 2017 of a Trump-imposed travel ban targeting Muslim-majority nations, which led to a temporary halt to the order. "The possibilities are limitless if Kamala Harris is elected president," he said.
