GUEST POST: If Washington Democrats Want To Stand Up To Trump, They Need To Tax Big Business

During the constant chaos of the Trump 2.0 experience, you could be forgiven for forgetting that early in this second term, Trump and the Republicans passed H.R. 1, also known as the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. H.R. 1 contains not only massive tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, but massive cuts in social services for the most vulnerable. 

My father has spent the past 35 years working as a social worker in Spokane, WA serving Washingtonians who are facing very dire and immediate repercussions because of these cuts to social services, and in a recent conversation with me he explained that while these real life consequences may be hard to imagine for the average citizen who doesn’t use something like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid, the downside to not providing these services will have unintended consequences that will be felt by our neighborhoods, our cities and our state. This is why it is so imperative that the Washington State Legislature pass WA State Representative Shaun Scott’s bill, H.B. 2100.

H.B. 2100, also known as the Well Washington Fund, would target large corporations in Washington State with high concentrations of employees earning above $125,000/year by applying a 5% tax only on the portion of payroll expenses that exceed that salary threshold. Businesses, low-wage workers, and employers already paying Seattle’s local JumpStart tax would be exempt. “This bill protects the people who make our economy run – not the corporations extracting record profits from it,” Representative Scott has said. “If an employer’s business model only works when executives make millions and everyone else pays for it – that’s not a business model, that’s exploitation.” 

The Well Washington Fund would generate $2.5 to $3 billion dollars per year for Washington state to reinforce funding for housing, healthcare and higher education. Estimates show that because of Trump’s H.R. 1 tax cuts, more than half a million Washington state residents are at risk of losing Medicaid, and our state faces a $100 million loss in funding for housing for our veteran, senior and disabled neighbors. Some state Democrats oppose the Well Washington Fund and are working on a potential statewide ‘millionaire income tax’ this year, and while many would welcome an income tax on high-income earners in Washington, a state with one of the country’s most regressive tax systems, even Governor Ferguson admits an income tax would not solve the problems caused by HR 1, as the tax would likely see several years of legal challenges, and even if it passes, apparently includes revenue neutralizing offsets to other business taxes. 

In addition to Rep. Shaun Scott, 18 other Washington state representatives have signed on to sponsor the Well Washington Fund. Despite this support, the bill is currently in danger of stalling out if it can’t get the support of Washington State’s 44th Legislative District Representative April Berg, who chairs the powerful Finance Committee.

In a parallel to our current dumb politics, Berg’s early adult life was dominated by the War on Terror, the Great Recession, and the neverending display of misplaced words and misstatements by President George W. Bush. What some forget is that, with all the other missteps, his administration also passed some terrible tax policies in 2001 and 2003, and 25 years later, our state and its people are still dealing with the repercussions of that awful federal tax policy and Berg’s Democratic predecessors refusal to react to them. 

With the Well Washington Fund, our State Representatives have an opportunity to do something that their predecessors didn’t do during the W. Bush years: stand up to the corporations that our citizens have turned into some of the biggest businesses humanity has ever seen. These corporations didn’t need George W. Bush’s tax breaks in 2001 and 2003, and they didn’t need Trump’s H.R. 1 tax breaks last year. 

If Berg’s not convinced by her own experience living through the Bush admin, maybe she’ll listen to the majority of Washingtonians who overwhelmingly support progressive taxation. 

In 2024, 64% of Washingtonians voted to pass a tax on capital gains, in 2025 Seattle voters passed a tax on big business to fund social housing, and the recent Seattle mayoral election of democratic socialist Katie Wilson shows that voters are ready for big corporations to pay their fair share and for a new generation of leaders to bring about change for our communities. 

It is imperative that Representative April Berg and the Washington State Legislature bring the Well Washington Fund to the floor for a vote this session, because those 64% of Washington voters are expecting to see strong, budget-positive taxes on big business enacted before the impact of H.R. 1 reaches our most vulnerable. If the officials currently in elected office cannot accomplish passing taxes on big business, then voters deserve at the very least to know what representatives stood in the way, and have the opportunity to replace them with people who will not do so in the future. 

This is not simply a matter of principle, although that alone would be a worthy enough reason to pass this bill. This is a matter of survival. Washington simply cannot continue to be both a tax paradise for mega corporations and a welcoming place for families to move to and raise a family. If we want to reduce the incoming harm caused by Trump’s administration, we must pass the Well Washington Fund. 

This coming Sunday, February 1st at 3:30PM join Washington State Representative for the 43rd Legislative District Shaun Scott at Dreamland Diner & Bar for an in district Town Hall discussing the Well Washington Fund and the 2026 legislative session.