2016 Washington Initiative 732

Washington Initiative 732 (2016)

Washington Carbon Emission Tax and Sales Tax Reduction
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 1,265,123 40.75%
No 1,839,414 59.25%

Secretary of State, Washington

Washington Initiative 732 (I-732) was a ballot initiative in 2016 to levy a carbon tax in the State of Washington, and simultaneously reduce the state sales tax. It was rejected 59.3% to 40.7%.[1] The measure appeared on the November 2016 ballot.[2] The backers of I-732 submitted roughly 350,000 signatures in December 2015 to certify the initiative.[3]

The initiative was spearheaded by environmental economist Yoram Bauman, a strong advocate of carbon pricing. It was modeled after the British Columbia carbon tax, which was considered "popular across the political spectrum".[4] The carbon tax in British Columbia caused the province's fuel consumption to decrease by 16% and its greenhouse gas emissions to decrease 3.5 times faster than the emissions of Canada as a whole, while maintaining steady economic growth.[5]

  1. ^ "Washington Initiative 732 — Create Carbon Emission Tax — Results: Rejected". The New York Times. August 2017.
  2. ^ "Washington Carbon Emission Tax and Sales Tax Reduction, Initiative 732 (2016)". Ballotpedia. Lucy Burns Institute. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "I-732, I-735 sponsors turn in signatures". blogs.sos.wa.gov. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  4. ^ Roberts, David (October 18, 2016). "The left vs. a carbon tax". Vox.com. Vox. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  5. ^ Fragroso, Alejandro Davila (March 31, 2016). "British Columbia's Carbon Tax Has Been So Successful That Businesses Want To Increase It". ThinkProgress. Center for American Progress. Retrieved October 25, 2016.