Initiatives

Faith Action Network Joins NO on 645 Coalition to Protect Working Families and the Common Good.

Faith Action Network is proud to join the statewide NO on 645 Coalition, a broad alliance of faith communities, educators, health care providers, childcare advocates, small businesses, labor organizations, and community groups working to defeat Initiative 645.

Initiative 645 would repeal Washington’s newly enacted Millionaires Tax—a modest tax on annual household income above $1 million that affects only the wealthiest one-half of one percent (0.5%) of Washingtonians. The tax applies only to income earned above the $1 million threshold, not to the first $1 million a household earns.

For Faith Action Network, this is about more than one tax or one ballot measure. Budgets are moral documents. The choices we make about raising and spending public resources reveal whose lives we value, whose needs we prioritize, and whether we are willing to share responsibility for the wellbeing of our neighbors.

Why FAN Supports the Millionaires Tax

The Millionaires Tax is expected to generate more than $3 billion annually and supports a broader package of investments and tax relief, including education, health care, childcare, free school meals, the Working Families Tax Credit, sales-tax relief on household necessities, and tax reductions for many small businesses.

Washington has long relied heavily on sales and excise taxes that consume a greater share of income from families with the fewest resources. The Millionaires Tax is an important steptoward a more balanced and equitable system—one in which those who have benefited most from our economy contribute more toward the schools, health systems, infrastructure, and communities that make prosperity possible.

Our diverse faith and wisdom traditions teach that wealth carries responsibility. They call us to care for children, welcome those on the margins, protect people who are sick or struggling, and ensure that workers can provide for their families. Asking households earning more than $1 million a year to contribute a fairer share is consistent with these values of justice, stewardship, solidarity, and care for the common good.

The Harmful Consequences of I-645

The NO on 645 campaign estimates that repealing the Millionaires Tax would create a $13 billion hole in funding for essential public services. The resulting cuts could mean larger classes and fewer individual supports for students, higher health care costs, reduced access to affordable child care, and the elimination of free school meals for many children.

I-645 would also threaten tax relief that directly benefits working and middle-income Washingtonians. According to coalition materials, the initiative could:

• Increase the Business and Occupation tax burden on many small businesses.
• Restrict eligibility for the Working Families Tax Credit.
• Restore sales taxes on necessities such as over-the-counter medicine, diapers, and other essential household products.
• Shift greater responsibility for funding public services onto working families and local communities.

At a time when families are already struggling with the rising costs of housing, food, health care, and child care, I-645 would move Washington backward. It would give a substantial tax benefit to the wealthiest households while placing the cost of lost revenue on people who can least afford it.

Faith Action Network urges people of faith and conscience across Washington to vote NO on Initiative 645. Together, we can defend the Millionaires Tax, protect essential services, support working families and small businesses, and advance a state budget rooted in justice, compassion, and the common good.

Learn more, join the coalition, and pledge to vote NO at No645.com.