‘We have a very strong argument’: Citizen Action Defense Fund makes case against WA’s income tax ahead of hearing

A legal challenge to Washington’s new income tax is scheduled for a Feb. 5, 2027 hearing in Klickitat County, according to the Citizen Action Defense Fund. The case will continue separately from Initiative 645, the unsuccessful ballot measure seeking to repeal the tax.

Speaking with “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio, Citizen Action Defense Fund executive director and attorney Jackson Maynard said the election outcome does not resolve the constitutional questions raised by the lawsuit.

“That’s totally separate from our lawsuit and the legal arguments,” Maynard said. “I’m focused on our lawsuit. I’m focused on the fact that we have a very strong argument and the precedent that we cite.”

February hearing comes before any Supreme Court review

The plaintiffs’ legal team includes former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna. The organization announced its challenge after Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the income tax legislation in March.

Maynard clarified that the next hearing is before a trial court judge, not the state Supreme Court.

“We have a hearing date for a motion for summary judgment. We got a briefing schedule. We’re going to start briefing with the other side in December, and then we kind of trade briefs back and forth,” Maynard said. “Then that will be the showdown at the OK Corral at the trial court level. And then, depending on how the court rules after that, we will likely wind up in the state Supreme Court.”

A summary judgment motion asks a judge to decide legal issues without a trial when there is no genuine dispute over material facts.

Challenge centers on income and property taxes

The lawsuit argues that Washington precedent treats income as property, making a graduated income tax subject to constitutional restrictions on property taxation. McKenna described that argument when the organization announced its legal effort.

Maynard expects the state Supreme Court to consider the case because of its significance.

“I definitely think this type of case is the type of case that the state Supreme Court usually accepts. It involves great public importance,” Maynard said.

He also described the challenge facing lawyers seeking to overturn earlier decisions.

“The bar to actually overturn precedent is really high,” Maynard said. “You have to establish that the legal underpinnings no longer exist, and you have to establish there’s harm.”

Maynard disputes an excise-tax defense

The interview addressed the distinction between the new income tax and Washington’s capital gains tax, which the state Supreme Court upheld in its 2023 Quinn decision.

“The state is trying to argue it’s an excise tax in their briefing,” Maynard said. “Here, the legislature specifically said this is a tax on income.”

“I just think they’re going to have a hard time trying to get around that language that the court basically drew a line in the sand and said, look, this is where the line is, and we’re not going to overturn that prior precedent,” he added.

Court composition should not determine the outcome

Curley asked whether justices appointed or supported by Ferguson could affect the case. Maynard emphasized the court’s responsibilities rather than predicting how individual justices would vote.

“Regardless of who is on the bench, their job is to interpret the law, to interpret the precedent based on the facts they have,” Maynard said. “A very similar makeup of gubernatorial appointees took a look and declined to overturn that precedent just a few years ago, and I think that they’ll come to the same conclusion this time around.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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