Spokane County passes largely symbolic resolution opposing local income tax

The Spokane County commissioners want people to know: This county opposes income taxes.

During their Dec. 14 meeting, the Spokane County commissioners unanimously approved a resolution banning income taxes.

“We’ve heard our voters loud and clear multiple times on the issue,” Spokane County Commissioner Josh Kerns said.

In the county’s case, the income tax ban is largely symbolic and doesn’t prevent a future group of county commissioners from imposing an income tax if it becomes legal in Washington.

But Kerns said the resolution creates a slight roadblock that would effectively give residents more warning if a future group of commissioners wanted to impose an income tax.

“Being a policy of the county now, it would add an additional step to any future body,” Kerns said. “They would first need to remove that policy of a ban.”

A host of other Washington jurisdictions, including Spokane and Spokane Valley, have passed similar bans in recent years. Not all of the bans are symbolic. For instance, the income tax ban Spokane passed in 2019 can’t be undone unless Spokane residents vote to overturn it.

Washington is one of a handful of American states that don’t have any income tax.

Seattle has attempted to collect an income tax on its wealthiest residents, but the effort was blocked in the state courts.