U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Washington State’s Capital Gains Tax Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday morning declined to hear an appeal of a Washington State Supreme Court ruling from March 2023 that found a statewide capital gains tax to be lawful. The justices, as is their custom, did not offer a reason for not taking the case. Opponents of the tax – a 7% levy on individuals’ long-term capital gains exceeding $250,000 – had argued it was functionally an income tax that violated the state constitution’s strict rules on income taxes.