‘No budget gimmicks’: WA Gov. Ferguson won't support legislative Democrats’ wealth tax plans

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is promising a fight with lawmakers if they stick to their recently unveiled tax plans.

More specifically, Ferguson announced Tuesday that he won’t sign a state budget deal that includes a multibillion dollar wealth tax – a key feature in both the House and Senate Democrats’ proposals.

“We cannot adopt a budget with anywhere near the level of taxes currently proposed by the House and Senate,” he said at a news conference.

Ferguson’s latest remarks come just as lawmakers begin negotiating their respective spending proposals, which aim to tackle a massive budget gap. Each chamber has already approved competing versions of the budget, but both chambers must come to a shared agreement before sending it to the governor for final approval.

The governor has long signaled his dislike for a wealth tax or major new tax increases to balance the budget. He expressed skepticism over the wealth tax idea after it was included in a proposal issued by his predecessor, former Gov. Jay Inslee, in December. Ferguson has said new taxes should be a “last resort” to address the deficit.

“My position has not changed,” Ferguson said Tuesday. “Despite that, both chambers adopted budgets that rely on untested wealth tax: $12 billion in the Senate, $7 billion in the House. I will not sign that.”

Ferguson believes the wealth tax could be overturned in court.

The governor went on to add that the risks that come with relying on the wealth tax are especially worrying as the state faces unpredictability at the federal level, with looming funding cuts and tariffs. He also said he doesn’t support part of the Senate Democrats’ proposal that would temporarily drain the state’s reserves for the 2026 fiscal year.

“I am not going to allow the state that I love to be at the financial mercy of Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Ferguson said. “That is not going to happen.”

Lawmakers are eager to finish their work before this year's regular legislative session is scheduled to end April 27. But Ferguson warned if they don’t change course on their tax proposals, they might be working in Olympia past that.

“If the legislature wishes to complete our work on time, they need to immediately move the budget discussions in a significantly different direction,” Ferguson said.

Lawmakers technically have until the new fiscal year begins July 1 to pass a budget before triggering a state government shutdown.