Initiative No. 2109 (I-2109) is a ballot initiative in the U.S. State of Washington that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. The initiative was brought to the state legislature by Let's Go Washington, a Redmond-based political action committee founded by businessman and hedge-fund manager Brian Heywood.[1][2] The initiative would repeal SB 5096, which created a 7% capital gains tax on the sale of long-term capital assets (i.e. stocks, bonds and business interests) worth more than $262,000 in Washington state since 2021. Real estate sales are already exempt from the tax.[1][3]
The effort to repeal I-2109 began in 2023, following a ruling of the Washington Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of the capital gains tax.[2][4] I-2109 collected a total of 436,474 signatures, and was ultimately certified and introduced to the legislature for their 2024 legislative session.[5] Senate majority leader Andy Billig (D) and Speaker of the House Laurie Jenkins (D) announced on February 16, 2024 that the state legislature would not hold hearings on the initiative.[6] This decision not to take action on the referred initiative placed the decision on the question to the November 5, 2024 election.