Senate Bill 5096 seeks to adopt a 9% capital gains tax in Washington State. The bill is scheduled for a hearing at 4 p.m. today in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. I am planning to participate to express our opposition to the legislation.

Why would WR oppose a bill for the state to collect a 9% tax on a citizen’s capital gains?

Because in many cases, those who would be taxed are small business owners who worked for years to survive in hopes of selling the business to pay for their retirement. We think it’s wrong for the state to tax someone’s retirement plan.

For years, a small business would have paid a Business and Occupation tax, property tax, payroll tax, unemployment insurance tax, Workers’ Compensation tax and in many cases collected and submitted sales taxes to the state.

On top of proposing a capital gains tax, our state already collects an Estate Tax. If the Governor and Legislature want to get after the wealthy in our state, a capital gains tax is not the way to do it. This bill will only hurt our small business owners who might have spent years serving our communities in hopes of one day enjoying a well-deserved retirement by selling their business.

SB 5096 is the wrong direction to go. We ask legislators to vote “no” on this legislation.