Wash. income tax initiative to include gay couples
Wash. income tax initiative to include gay couples
OLYMPIA, WASH. Supporters of an initiative campaign to tax the earnings of couples making more than $400,000 annually want to make sure the state's domestic partners are taxed at the same rate as married couples.
An updated draft of Initiative 1077 was filed with the secretary of state on Friday. The initiative was announced Wednesday by Bill Gates Sr. and others. In addition to making some technical changes, it adds language to ensure that it is consistent with the state's latest expansion to domestic partnerships.
I-1077 would tax couples with adjusted gross incomes greater than $400,000 annually, or incomes of more than $200,000 for individuals. Supporters said that represents the top 3 percent of earners in Washington. It also would cut the state property tax by 20 percent and increase the business-and-occupation tax credit to $4,800.
Gay advocates worried that domestic partnerships in which only one person makes more than $200,000 would be unfairly penalized by the tax.
For example, if a person makes $225,000 and his or her domestic partner makes $30,000, the goal is to ensure the higher wage earner would not be subject to the new tax - as would be the case if the couple was married.
"You would have seen gay and lesbian families paying significantly more taxes than their similarly situated heterosexual peers," said Josh Friedes with Equal Rights Washington.
The new language needs to be reviewed by the state code reviser, and supporters will not be able to gather signatures for the amended initiative until that process is done. However, the campaign will continue to gather signatures on the original initiative while they determine which version to put forth to voters.
The campaign needs to collect more than 240,000 valid petition signatures by July 2 to qualify for the November ballot.
I-1077 spokesman Sandeep Kaushik said if supporters decide to go with the amended language instead of the original language, "it will cause a delay, but we remain confident that we'll be able to qualify for the ballot."
Kaushik said measure supporters believe domestic partners would be covered under current state law but decided to submit the amended language while they researched it.
"There's some legal ambiguity there, and we're right now trying to resolve that issue," he said.
In November, voters approved granting registered domestic partners additional state rights previously given only to married couples. Full-fledged gay marriage is still not allowed under Washington law.
The expanded law in Washington state adds benefits, such as the right to use sick leave to care for a domestic partner, and rights related to adoption, child custody and child support.
More than 14,000 people in Washington state are registered as domestic partners, and most are gay. Under state law, senior heterosexual couples can register as domestic partners as well, if at least one partner is 62 years old or older. That provision was included by lawmakers to help seniors who don't remarry out of fear they could lose certain pension or Social Security benefits.
The proposed income tax initiative sets out two tax brackets. The first tax rate would be 5 percent assessed on the portion of joint incomes that exceed $400,000, or $200,000 for individuals.
For joint incomes above $1 million, the tax would be $30,000 plus 9 percent on income above the threshold. Single incomes above $500,000 would pay $15,000 plus 9 percent of earnings above the threshold.
Advocates said it would raise about $1 billion per year for education and health programs.
Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/04/23/1400422/wash-income-tax-initiative-to.html#ixzz0m2i8SbZv
- Associated Press Writer
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