The Center Square’s investigation into Washington’s new millionaire’s tax uncovered nearly 1,000 pages of internal communications between the Washington Attorney General’s Office and legislative leaders that shed new light on the purpose behind the proposal. Through public records requests, The Center Square obtained emails showing lawmakers and state attorneys discussing strategies to prompt the Washington Supreme Court to reconsider nearly a century of precedent holding that income is property under the state constitution. The records included communications in which Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen stated he wanted to “force” the court to revisit the 1933 Culliton decision and legal advice from state attorneys on how to structure the tax to maximize the likelihood of overturning existing case law.

 

After publication, attorneys challenging the tax cited The Center Square’s findings in a supplemental brief before the Washington Supreme Court, arguing the records contradicted the state’s legal position in litigation. The initial investigation also led to additional records requests that uncovered further communications involving Attorney General’s Office staff, including discussions about legal strategy surrounding efforts to block a voter referendum on the tax. Those follow-up stories expanded public scrutiny of both the tax and the government officials involved.

 

The Center Square’s series generated significant statewide and national attention. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board cited The Center Square’s findings in an editorial examining the court’s decision to block a referendum. Seattle radio program The Gee & Ursula Show discussed the reporting with Sen. Pedersen, while Fox 13, MyNorthwest, and the Washington Policy Center produced follow-up coverage based on The Center Square’s reporting. The Center Square’s reporters were also interviewed on multiple regional programs, including the Ari Hoffman Show, the Lars Larson Show, and the John Curley Show on KIRO Radio.

 

Across four stories, The Center Square’s series generated 33,000 website views and 400,000 social media views. The articles were republished 714 times by news outlets in 47 states, including 37 times in Washington state. By obtaining exclusive records, prompting new legal arguments in an active court case, and driving broader media coverage, The Center Square provided taxpayers with information that otherwise would not have entered the public record.