Despite Delay Tactics, Super-Rich Should Be Paying What They Owe in Capital Gains Taxes

Olympia, WA: Attorney General Bob Ferguson is asking the State Supreme Court to allow the Washington Department of Revenue to move forward on collecting much needed funding for Washington’s childcare and schools. 

State’s motion to stay

The State’s request for a stay asks the Supreme Court to remove a lower court’s block on the state’s capital gains tax, and allow the Department of Revenue to move forward with mechanisms and rules need to be in place well before the tax due date of April 18, 2023 or else taxpayers will miss the filing deadline and owe statutorily mandated penalties. 

The State’s request comes as our state’s childcare and education systems face a funding crisis. 

Treasure Mackley, Executive Director of Invest in WA Now, responded:  “Our state’s super-rich must pay what they owe in capital gains taxes on their stock market profits so that Washington’s students and parents can access much needed child care and education. Make no mistake, this lawsuit is just another delay tactic by the richest few. They are putting their own self-interests and fortunes ahead of our communities, and it must stop.”

According to recent news reports: 

• Washington’s school districts are facing massive cuts without additional funding (Crosscut 11/2/22). 
• 29.6% of Washington households couldn’t access childcare. In the Seattle metro area, a whopping 40% of families with kids under 5 couldn’t access child care. (US News 2/1/22)

According to the state’s motion, “If the Department is unable to establish the mechanisms and rules to collect the tax before the due date, there is a risk that some taxpayers will evade the tax altogether, reducing funding for the vital education programs it supports.”

A WA State Supreme Court hearing on the lawsuit Quinn v. Washington is scheduled for January 26, 2023 and a final decision is expected months later. 

Earlier this year a trial court in Douglas County ruled in favor of the millionaires behind Quinn, which is attempting to eliminate $500 million per year in education funding raised from a 7% capital gains tax on extraordinary profits from stock sales exceeding $250,000. These monies will fund the Education Legacy Trust Account, which supports child care, pre-schools, special education, and community and technical colleges, among other things.

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