Washington Income Tax Sets Up Direct Test of Century-Old Precedent

By: Paul W. Taylor

Outlets: TVW

Published: September 17, 2026

Words: 469

Last Updated: 1 month, 3 weeks ago

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Washington’s new income tax is setting up a direct test of nearly century-old state Supreme Court precedent restricting graduated income taxes.

On TVW’s Inside Olympia, attorneys Paul Lawrence and Jackson Maynard agreed that the case ultimately turns on Culliton v. Chase, the 1933 decision treating income as property subject to the state constitution’s uniformity requirements. They sharply disagreed over whether that precedent remains sound.

Lawrence, who supports the tax, argued Culliton was …

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