Travel expert Rick Steves welcomes new millionaire’s tax

(SeaPRwire) –   On the day Washington Governor Bob Ferguson enacted the state’s inaugural personal income tax, one of the region’s most prominent millionaires expressed his enthusiastic support for the measure.

Rick Steves, the Edmonds-based travel expert and media personality known for his guidebooks and television specials, took to Facebook on March 30 to celebrate the “millionaires tax.”

His post, featuring a photo of him with an American flag and the slogan “A Millionaires Tax? Let’s Try Shared Prosperity!”, went viral quickly, earning over 11,000 reactions and being shared by both Governor Ferguson and state Senate Democrats.

“A new tax on fat paychecks like mine was just signed into law in my home state—and I like it,” Steves stated. While the political conversation had been dominated by the departure of billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Howard Schultz, Steves offered a contrasting perspective from the wealthy class by welcoming the higher tax rate.

The new legislation, which applies a 9.9% tax to individual income exceeding $1 million annually, will fund childcare, universal school meals, and tax credits for lower-income families. For Steves, a long-time advocate for progressive taxation, the logic was clear.

“And—for those of us with a heart for the public good—it’s simply common sense,” he wrote.

He also criticized Washington’s traditional tax system, which relies on regressive sales taxes and is frequently ranked as one of the most unequal in the country. “It’s time to change our upside-down tax system,” Steves remarked.

He is not alone in viewing the state’s tax code as regressive. Washington Representative Brianna Thomas, a Democrat, noted the significant effort required to pass the bill, citing nearly a century of precedent regarding income tax discussions.

Washington Senate Democrats amplified his message, stating that millionaires like Steves understand that everyone benefits from shared prosperity.

Whether the law survives potential legal challenges—stemming from a 1933 court ruling—remains to be seen. However, Steves’ post indicates that not every wealthy resident is planning to relocate.