- Jason Lemkin is urging voters to approve Initiative 645, which would repeal Washington’s new high-income tax.
- The measure targets the state’s 9.9% income tax on annual individual income above one million dollars.
- Voters decide November third, twenty twenty-six, before the tax’s January first, twenty twenty-eight start date.
Jason Lemkin, identified as a DocuSign founder, is urging Washington voters to approve Initiative 645, a measure that would repeal the state’s new tax on individual income above $1,000,000 before the levy takes effect.
The campaign is promoting a yes on I-645 vote in the November 3, 2026, general election. If approved, the initiative would block the tax before its January 1, 2028, start date.
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The measure targets Washington’s newly enacted 9.9% income tax on annual individual income over $1,000,000. It also would bar state and local governments from imposing taxes on individual income, on the receipt of individual income, or on taxes measured by an individual’s income.
Capital gains remain outside the repeal. The initiative would leave Washington’s capital gains excise tax in place.
I-645 has already qualified for the ballot. Voters will see the proposal alongside a state-required disclosure warning that repeal would reduce funding for education and human services.
The dispute reaches beyond the tax rate. It concerns how Washington would finance public programs and whether lawmakers could create similar income-based taxes later.
The ballot sets a repeal against a scheduled tax start
Washington’s high-income tax became law in late March 2026, when Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the measure. The tax is not scheduled to begin until January 1, 2028, and payments would come the following year.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Election date | November 3, 2026 |
| Scheduled tax start | January 1, 2028 |
| Tax rate | 9.9% |
| Income threshold | Annual individual income over $1,000,000 |
| Projected first-year collections | Roughly $2.7 billion |
| Later reported 2029 collections | About $3.1 billion |
The Washington Department of Revenue estimate cited in the research projects roughly $2.7 billion in the first year of collections. A later figure puts collections at about $3.1 billion in 2029, described as the first year of collections.
The proposed prohibition is broader than the levy on high earners. I-645 would prevent state and local governments from taxing individual income or using individual income as the measure for another tax.
The measure text defines income as “any gain or benefit measured in money derived from an individual’s capital, labor, property, or other source.” It defines an individual as a natural person for excise tax purposes.
Backers built the campaign around Washington’s tax history
The repeal campaign, Vote Yes Repeal the Income Tax, launched in July 2026 under Steve Gordon, a third-generation trucking executive. The wider initiative effort is associated with Let’s Go Washington and its founder, Brian Heywood, a Redmond hedge fund manager and financier.
Let’s Go Washington promotes the measure with the statements “YES ON I-645” and “REPEAL THE INCOME TAX.” The organization says it collected 511,409 total signatures to place the initiative before voters.
Washington has long operated without a broad individual income tax. Supporters describe I-645 as a defense of that structure, while opponents say the measure would remove a planned source of public funding and restrict future tax policy.
The targeted levy applies to high wage income above the threshold. It is not a broad tax on all Washington earnings.
The measure’s language also has implications beyond the current law. By prohibiting taxes on individual income and taxes measured by it, I-645 would seek to prevent state and local governments from adopting comparable income-based taxes.
The ballot disclosure survived a court fight
Attorney General Nick Brown’s office drafted the disclosure that will appear with the initiative. Arthur West challenged the language and sought to stop its use on ballots.
State Supreme Court Commissioner Michael Johnston denied West’s preliminary-injunction request on August 21, 2026. The Washington State Supreme Court later deadlocked 4-4 on West’s emergency injunction request, leaving the disclosure in place.
The wording tells voters:
“This measure would decrease funding for public K-12 education, higher education (including universities and community colleges), and human services (primarily healthcare).”
The statement makes the projected revenue loss part of the ballot presentation. It names public K-12 education, universities and community colleges, and healthcare-related human services.
Washington State PTA opposes the initiative. The group says I-645 would repeal the “Millionaire’s Tax” while also broadly prohibiting state and local income taxation.
WSNA has argued that millionaire backers are pushing the initiative and that repeal would threaten critical programs for Washingtonians. An editorial board recommended No on I-645, saying the measure would deepen budget problems and preserve tax credits without funding them.
The opposing arguments focus on the state’s future budget position. Backers focus on preserving Washington’s tax structure and rejecting a new income tax before it starts.
The vote will decide whether the levy ever begins
The campaign’s central question is now scheduled for November 3, 2026: whether Washington should collect the new tax or repeal it before implementation.
Ferguson’s law remains scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2028. If voters reject I-645, payments would be due the following year, after the state begins applying the high-income tax.
