The Washington State Senate has voted to approve a new tax on residents who make more than $1 million per year.

Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, has vowed to sign the bill.

The bill, approved Wednesday by the Democrat-led Senate, will impose a 9.9% tax on state residents who earn over $1 million annually.

Supporters say the tax would affect only a small share of taxpayers — roughly 0.5% of high-income residents — while generating billions annually for programs including education, healthcare, housing, and tax credits for working families, as well as eliminating sales taxes on personal care items such as shampoo.

"The very visceral anger that Washingtonians feel at not just HR1, but all the actions of the federal government, meant that there was really a strong public sentiment in favor of getting this done," Washington House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-West Seattle, told Politico.

The tax would take effect in 2028, with the first payments due in 2029.

Washington has no state income tax. Voters have rejected statewide income tax proposals several times over the past century.

Republicans criticized the bill, telling Politico it won't solve the state's budget problems and would lead corporations that call the state home, such as Starbucks, to leave.

"Ten years from now, our state's going to be an entirely different place than it is right now," state Sen. John Braun told Politico.

Starbucks founder Howard Schultz announced that he and his family are moving from Seattle to Florida the same day the tax was passed by lawmakers.

Schultz shared the news in a LinkedIn post, saying he and his wife, Sheri, have entered the retirement phase of their lives after more than four decades in Seattle. He did not mention the legislation in his post.

Fitzgibbon told Politico he expects a ballot initiative to repeal the tax come November. Braun said organizations are already preparing legal challenges to the bill.

Braun told Politico that state law requires that property cannot be taxed at different rates or on different income levels.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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