‘It’s all garbage’: Curley doesn’t buy Governor Ferguson’s claim not to expand millionaires’ tax

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson stated on X Wednesday that so long as he is governor, he will veto any attempt to lower the threshold for the millionaires’ tax or raise the rate of the tax.

It looks like voters will get a say on whether to maintain the tax on income over $1 million that was passed earlier this year- and I look forward to the public having their say on this important policy. To be clear, this reform of our regressive tax code included expansion of…

— Bob Ferguson (@BobFergusonGov) May 27, 2026

KIRO host John Curley wasn’t buying it, noting Ferguson also promised he wouldn’t raise taxes while running for office.

“It’s all garbage,” Curley said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

He pointed out Ferguson could easily make an excuse to expand the tax to those with a lower income.

“You can say things while you’re running, you can say things while you’re serving, but when it really comes down to it, you could easily say, ‘I’ve taken a closer look at the budget, and things have changed, and it’s very alarming to me that we are not able to provide the essential services that we need for the great people of Washington. It’s an emergency, and we are going to just temporarily drop it down to anybody who makes $100,000,'” Curley said.

Curley joins signature drive to repeal millionaires’ tax

While Let’s Go Washington has already gathered 94,000 signatures to repeal the millionaires’ tax, Curley said he will also be helping gather signatures this weekend.

“I will be signature gathering. I’m out there with Brian himself, coming up this Saturday, May 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Coyote Corner convenience store in Kittitas,” he said.

Organizers have until July 2 to get 309,000 signatures, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

Curley will also be gathering signatures at the Safeway in Cle-Elum. He said if not stopped, the millionaires’ tax will turn into a statewide income tax.

“What they want is an income tax in the state of Washington. That’s what they want,” Curley said. “And once they get the sales tax, and they keep the sales tax there, they’re going to get the income tax, because that’s really what they need, because they want as much money as they can possibly get.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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