By Susan
April 9, 2026
Small businesses not out of harm’s way from the deceptively named ‘Millionaire Tax’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elizabeth Milito, Executive Director, NFIB Small Business Legal Center, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
OLYMPIA, Wash., April 9, 2026—The state’s leading small business association announced today that it joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 6346, the so-called Millionaire Tax signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson on March 30.
“Washington small businesses look forward to working with former Attorney General Rob McKenna, former state Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, and groups such as the Citizen Action Defense Fund, in stopping this tax from going any further,” said Elizabeth Milito, Executive Director of the National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Legal Center.
“All throughout the bill’s legislative journey, NFIB took great pains to point out that business earnings are not the same as take-home pay and that 85% of small businesses are organized as pass-through entities for federal tax purposes and report their business earnings and expenses on their personal income tax forms.”
NFIB was one of the more active and vociferous opponents of the new state income tax, producing digital and radio ads and setting up a Protect Washington Small Businesses landing page on the web to inform the public of all the arguments against the tax.
“This case is about enforcing clear constitutional limits on the state’s taxing authority. When those limits are ignored, it’s small businesses and working Washingtonians who pay the price,” said Jackson Maynard, Executive Director of the Citizen Action Defense Fund. “We are asking the court to uphold the rule of law and make clear that the constitution is not optional.”
Keep up with the latest Washington state small business news at www.nfib.com or on X @NFIB_WA or on Facebook @NFIB.WA
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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
NFIB Washington
111 – 21st Avenue Southwest
Olympia, WA 98501
360-786-8675
NFIB.com
Twitter: @NFIB_WA
Facebook: @NFIB.WA
