如果有人认为华盛顿州的“百万富翁”所得税仅适用于百万富翁，那就错了。在最近的州参议院辩论中，两位候选人都放弃了假装百万富翁税只适用于富人的姿态。
If anyone thought the Washington state “millionaires” income tax was only for millionaires, think again. In a recent state Senate debate, both candidates dropped the pretense that the millionaire tax will apply only to the wealthy.
“你真的需要超过一百万美元才能在华盛顿州过上好日子吗？”众议员辛迪·吕（民主党，第32选区）说。“我认为不需要。”她表示，十万美元是一个相当中产阶级的收入，因此门槛或许应该稍微提高。“也许不是十万美元，”吕女士说，“让我们看看……大约25万美元。我们能否靠每年25万美元的净收入过上好日子？”她的对手、民主党州参议员杰西·所罗门（民主党，第32选区）建议75万美元会是一个更好的上限。
“Do you really need more than a million dollars to live well in Washington state?”Rep. Cindy Ryu (D., 32nd district) said. “I think not.”A hundred thousand is a pretty middle class salary, she said, so perhaps the threshold should be a little higher. “Maybe not $100,000,” Ms. Ryu said, “Let’s look at . . . about $250,000. Can we live well on $250,000 a year of net income?”Her opponent, Democratic state Sen. Jesse Salomon (D., 32nd district), suggested $750,000 would be a better limit.
[audio] 加州第40号提案财富税及其经济利害关系 这是渐进税的蓝图。先从对“百万富翁”征税开始，因为这类人数量不足以引发太大的政治麻烦。但一旦渐进税制到位，民主党人可以随着时间的推移降低门槛，以覆盖更多纳税人并扩大受其9.9%税率影响的人群。
[audio] California’s Prop. 40 Wealth Tax and the Economic Stakes This is the progressive tax blueprint. Start by proposing taxes on “millionaires” since there aren’t enough of them to cause too much political trouble. But once a progressive tax regime is in place, Democrats can over time lower the bar to capture more taxpayers and expand those hit by their 9.9% levy.
华盛顿州宪法禁止对财产征收渐进税，而财产包括无形财产如收入，因此这项税永远不应该通过。目前该税正在华盛顿州法院受到挑战，并安排了2月的听证会。此前，华盛顿州最高法院曾维持州上诉法院的裁决，即宪法“禁止任何渐进式所得税”。但该法院在2023年通过主张资本收益不属于收入而批准了资本利得税。
Washington state’s constitution bars progressive taxes on property, which includes intangible property like income, so the tax should never have passed. It’s being challenged in Washington court and has a hearing scheduled for February. The state Supreme Court previously let stand a state appeals court ruling that says the constitution “bars any graduated income tax.”But it approved a capital-gains tax in 2023 by claiming gains aren’t income.
这项新税要到2028年才生效，但民主党人已经在预期其税收。当反对者在11月选票上提出一项倡议，旨在废除该税并防止立法者未来通过类似的所得税时，华盛顿州民主党籍总检察长添加了一段令人不安的描述，以劝阻选民支持它。
The new tax doesn’t go into effect until 2028, but Democrats are already anticipating the revenue. When opponents put an initiative on the November ballot to repeal the tax and prevent lawmakers from passing similar income taxes in the future, the Democratic state Attorney General added an ominous description to discourage voters from supporting it.
在废除税收的倡议语下方的选票上，民主党籍司法部长尼克·布朗补充道：“此举将减少公立K-12教育、高等教育（包括大学和社区学院）以及人类服务的资金。”这一恐吓策略有助于削弱对废除的支持。
On the ballot beneath the initiative language to repeal the tax, Democratic Attorney General Nick Brown added that “this measure would decrease funding for public K-12 education, higher education (including universities and community colleges), and human services.”The scare tactic has helped reduce support for the repeal.
民主党立法者还设计了该法律，通过仅每隔一年调整通胀来获取更多“战利品”，仿佛物价上涨会每两年放一次假。立法机构的最终法案报告还规定：“各项养老金法规被修改，以明确养老金收入不免于该法律的约束。”工会正试图向成员保证，他们的养老金年收入未达一百万美元，因此不会被纳入，但请等待收入门槛被下调。
Democratic lawmakers also designed the law to capture more loot by adjusting for inflation only every other year, as if price increases take a biennial holiday. The Legislature’s final bill report also specifies that “various pension statutes are modified to specify that pension income is not exempt from the law.”Unions are trying to reassure members that their pensions don’t add up to a million dollars a year so won’t be captured, but wait until the income threshold is adjusted downward.
民主党人试图误导纳税人，使其在下月反对废除倡议。2010年，选民曾否决一项计划，该计划将对个人收入超过20万美元、夫妇收入超过40万美元的部分征税。这大致是 Ryu 众议员所说的州应为“百万富翁”税做好规划的目标范围。华盛顿州的民主党人，如 Ryu 女士，认为他们比你更清楚在该州“生活好”需要什么。
Democrats are trying to mislead taxpayers to oppose the repeal initiative next month. In 2010 voters said no to a plan that would have imposed a tax on income over $200,000 for individuals and $400,000 for couples. That’s about the target range Rep. Ryu says the state should be planning for the “millionaire” tax. Washington Democrats like Ms. Ryu think they know better than you do what it takes “to live well” in the state.
[视频] 《华尔街日报》观点：经济才是关键，傻瓜——但有多傻？
[video] WSJ Opinion: It’s the Economy, Stupid—but How Stupid?