(The Center Square) – Former Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler held a press conference Wednesday to urge support for the income tax repeal initiative backed by Let’s Go Washington.
I-645 asks voters if they want to repeal the recently passed income tax for individuals who make more than $1 million a year, or combined household income above that threshold.
“Washington is where we call home because we love our way of life here. We love what it has to offer. And to me, it’s worth protecting,” said Herrera Beutler in a Wednesday morning press conference broadcast on TVW.
“When I was asked if I wanted to join this effort to defeat the income tax, I was enthusiastically in because I want my kids to stay here and I want my future grandkids to stay here. I don’t want to chase them all over the country.”
Herrera Beutler, who served in the Washington House of Representatives representing the 18th Legislative District from 2007 to 2011, became the first Hispanic person to represent Washington state in federal office earning a seat in Congress in 2011.
She was one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump in 2021 following the January 6 Capitol attack, which likely cost her losing the conservative base in 2022’s primary.
The former Congresswoman said she is convinced that backers of the income tax fully intend to expand it to be a tax on all levels of income.
“Their issue is not that money isn’t coming in. The issue is how much they’re spending and how fast,” she said. “And there’s bipartisan consensus that they’re overspending. I mean, we have had two former governors now, Governors Chris Gregoire and Gary Locke both said that Olympia has a spending problem.”
Former Governor Locke spoke about his concerns about majority Democrats’ spending addiction in Olympia during an exclusive interview with The Center Square in July.
“There’s no budget discipline. They’re taking one time money and creating permanent programs without any thought as to how they are going to sustain that program,” Locke told The Center Square July 17 at the Association of Washington Business Economic Futures Summit.
Locke said voters are losing confidence with lawmakers as money is shifted around from one program to another.
“If you borrow money to pay for a program, where will you find the money to replenish or repay that fund? And then where are you going to find the money then to continue the program for which you borrowed that money? I think that the Legislature has passed all these revenue programs, and some of it, I support. But they still have a budget deficit,” said Locke.
“Pretty soon, people are going to say, ‘Wait a second, I can’t trust those folks,” he said.
Herrera Beutler said lawmakers backing the income tax made clear their intentions to expand it down the road by not including suggested amendments.
“In debates around this bill, there were amendments put up to shield those of us who make under a million dollars from the future tax. If you’re not going to tax everybody else, and you’re just going to tax millionaires, then go ahead and put that language into the bill and vote on that. Make that binding,” she said.
“And the sponsors of the bill rejected that….it’s because they plan to come for that money.”
The Center Square reached out to Invest in Washington Now, one of the main groups backing the No on I-645 campaign, for comment about Herrera Beutler’s support for I-645.
“Two predictable things today: it’s raining in Western Washington in September, and a Republican former member of Congress is in favor of cutting education and health care funding so that wealthy people have lower taxes. Yawn,” wrote Erik Houser with Invest in WA Now via email.The former Congresswoman was asked why she felt compelled to come out in support of I-645.”This is purely me wanting to make sure that my kids, as they get into a place where they’re looking to start their own lives, that they can start it here and they don’t flee the state,” she said.”Because working class people don’t have the same ability I would say, as some of these large corporations or some of these uber-wealthy people. I’m really focused on the people who don’t have those abilities.”