‘We’re trying to protect our ability to pay people’: WA CEO warns state’s income tax could affect workers’ pay, benefits

Catalynt owner and CEO Meg Gluth warned that Washington’s millionaires tax could affect employee benefits, hiring, and where she expands her business. The law imposes a 9.9% tax on Washington taxable income above $1 million per household beginning in 2028, including qualifying income that business owners report on their personal returns.

Speaking with “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio, Gluth described the tax as a business expense that would influence decisions beyond her own compensation.

“For me, this wasn’t even a political issue,” Gluth said. “I really feel like this particular tax negatively and disproportionately affects businesses that are LLCs, subchapter S, professional corporations.”

Gluth describes pressure on employee benefits

Gluth said her international company employs slightly more than 60 people and described benefits intended to help a smaller employer compete for workers.

“At my company, for example, we pay 100% of the health insurance premiums for every single employee. It’s a cool perk. We pay cell phones. We pay home internet,” Gluth said. “We do what we can do to sort of offset their costs of living and make their lives really good.”

Catalynt employees can also leave for family activities without using a half-day of paid time off.

“All of those things are an expense. Health insurance premiums go up considerably every single year,” Gluth said. “If you’re going to add a tax, you’re going to add another expense in that column. Then I have to cut from somewhere. It’s not as though we’re cutting; I call it the yacht fund.”

Gluth connected those choices with hiring and compensation.

“It impacts how many people we can hire, the raises we can give them, the bonuses we can give them, and the benefits we can give them,” Gluth said.

Other states compete for the next expansion

Gluth has a plant in the Midwest and had considered additional warehousing and manufacturing in Washington. She identified Maine, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, West Virginia and Louisiana as states that had contacted her within the past year.

“There are states all over the country that so badly want job creators moving to their state,” Gluth said. “They’re trying to pick off people like me, who will come set up shop, create 20 more jobs, and they create 20 more taxpayers in their state.”

She framed the decision as where to expand rather than necessarily moving existing employees.

“We’re builders, John. We want to build. We want to create. We want to expand. It’s fun to do that,” Gluth said. “It’s not just jobs for the people who work for me. It’s the construction companies. It’s the plumbers. It’s the electricians. It’s the drivers.”

Gluth ties business ownership to opportunities she received

Gluth described growing up below the poverty line in Iowa and receiving opportunities that shaped her career.

“I’m not arguing that we shouldn’t fund schools,” Gluth said. “But I am saying that a huge part of my life came from people, the generosity and just the desire for business owners to grow that gave me a chance, that gave me a job, and that gave me the chance to work overtime, to pick up a second shift, to hustle.

“They did that at their risk, and it changed my life,” Gluth added. “What’s wrong with me wanting to give the same kind of opportunity to other people?”

How is business income currently portrayed?

Gluth challenged the idea that business earnings simply become money an owner keeps.

“We have to take this conversation away from this idea that every dollar earned in a business is pure profit that goes to the pocket of the business owner. That’s just not reality,” Gluth said. “Every business owner will tell you that if their business isn’t making money, they are the first people that don’t get paid. We pay our employees. We keep them on the payroll.

“At the same time, when they’re winning, they’re adding jobs, they’re giving raises, they’re giving benefits, and that’s good for everyone,” Gluth continued.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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