Washington state’s new tax on capital gains isn’t an unconstitutional income tax, the state and a group of education-funding supporters argued to the state top court in an effort to revive the tax.
A trial court struck down the tax law in May, siding with farmer and business groups that argued past court rulings categorized income taxes as property taxes, which can’t exceed 1% annually.
The excise tax, which took effect on Jan. 1, is 7% on gains over $250,000 per year, excluding gains from retirement account sales, real estate, and certain small businesses. “Fewer than one in 1,000 Washingtonians …