Washington voters favor anti-tax initiatives -- for now

The three tax initiatives destined for Washington’s November ballot are popular with voters, according to the results of a new Cascade PBS/Elway Poll.

None of the proposals – to repeal the capital gains tax, to kill the cap-and-invest carbon pricing system, and to make the long-term care insurance program optional – gathered support from a majority of voters in the May 13-16 poll. But two of them got pretty close.

Of the voters polled on the language of the three initiatives funded by hedge fund CEO Brian Heywood, 41% said they would likely vote yes to prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax program, 31% would vote no (to keep the cap-and-invest program) and 28% said they were undecided. Those numbers changed slightly – 43% to repeal, 34% to keep the program and 23% undecided – when the poll asked a second question that explained some pro and con arguments for each position.



Asked about the capital gains tax, 47% said they would vote yes to repeal, 36% would vote no, and 17% were undecided. Asked again after the poll outlined some pros and cons, only 40% of voters were in favor of the initiative, 41% wanted to keep the new tax and 19% were undecided.

https://crosscut.com/politics/2024/05/washington-voters-favor-anti-tax-initiatives-now