The continuing saga of the Olympia income tax proposal took a new turn this week when a Thurston County Judge rejected the proposed ballot title and summary created by the City of Olympia and struck the words "income tax" from appearing. The new ballot title instead will read "establishing and funding a college grant program."

Here is ballot title and summary the City of Olympia originally proposed:

“Initiative Measure No. 1 concerns establishment of a 1.5% annual income tax within the City.

This Measure would impose within the City of Olympia an annual tax on adjusted gross income of household income exceeding $200,000; tax proceeds, after administrative expenses, would be available to provide all or part of the cost of one year of community college tuition, or an equivalent sum to attend public universities, community colleges or technical colleges in the State, to City residents graduated from public high school or with a GED.”

A different judge had earlier ruled the proposed income tax was illegal and removed the proposal from the ballot. Shockingly an appeals court commissioner stayed the ruling and the full appeals court agreed to let the income tax proposal go to the ballot without ruling on the merits. This Appeals Court decision is also a head scratcher considering that just this past February a unanimous state Supreme Court ruled that local ballot measures that are illegal can be kept off the ballot. 

All sides agree this Olympia income tax ballot measure is really about creating a test case to see if the state Supreme Court will allow an income tax without constitutional amendment. This is why we believe the legislature should send the voters a constitutional amendment, like occurred recently in Tennessee, to make the state’s income tax ban court proof.

Additional Information
Whoa! Olympia income tax back on November ballot
Judge rules Olympia income tax proposal illegal