The press conference on the steps of Washington’s Capitol Building was lowkey hostile. After Rep. Shaun Scott announced his bill to create a statewide payroll tax for high-earners, right-wing journalists peppered him with whataboutisms.

Scott introduced a small package of bills to make up for the cuts in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” but the “Well Washington Fund” is the centerpiece. The payroll tax is similar to Seattle’s, which raked in more than $1 billion over its five-year existence and kept the city above water in the pandemic years.

Like Jumpstart, a payroll tax on Seattle employees earning $150,000 or more, Scott would tax US-based companies with more than 20 employees and $5 million in total income. The bill would put a tax on salaries above $125,000 a year. Scott compared it to

See Full Page