Sens. Goehner and Short push back on new income tax

7th District Washington State Senator Shelly Short, left, 12th District State Senator Keith Goehner.

Washington may soon have an income tax.

Democrats pushed a bill through the Washington State Senate on Monday to create one.

Every Senate Republican voted no.

"I'm really troubled by the fact that when I took an oath to serve in the Senate, it said I would obey by the Constitution of the State of Washington and the United States and this bill, it is very clear to me, that it doesn't conform to those standards that I said I would uphold," said Senator Keith Goehner (R-Dryden) on the floor of the Senate Monday afternoon. "And so with that I definitely can not support this."

"We have to invest in our people and taking well earned money away from those who do know how to use it is not the way to make Washington a more prosperous place," added Goehner. " We need to reprioritize our budgets and make sure that we are fulfilling our commitments we've already made and then we can talk about where do we go from there. But until that happens, Mr. President, I certainly do not support increased taxation."

"Thinking about all of the philanthropic investments that have been made in our communities throughout our time in northeast Washington, those investments, those donations, go away," said Senator Shelly Short (R-Addy) in a rebuttal to the new tax on social media Monday night. "It's what's made our district, it's what's made our communities, is the support. The State of Washington, with this bill, believes it is in a better place to make those decisions than you are."

Republican Senators said along with being unconstitutional and undemocratic, the new tax opens the door to taxing everyone.

If the House and governor sign off, this would be the largest tax increase in state history—beating last year’s record $9 billion tax increase.

Learn more about the "Millionaires Tax" proposal here.