Advisory Vote No. 8 (agricultural excise tax preferences)
Election Results
| Option | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Repealed | 74,011 | 50.91% |
| Maintained | 71,369 | 49.09% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About The Measure
Washington voters are asked their “advice” this fall on a decision the Legislature made in the spring to change tax rates for marijuana.
But the Legislature isn’t obliged to heed the results of the advisory vote, and, if history holds, won’t even revisit the issue if voters say it should be repealed.
The advisory vote is required by an earlier initiative designed to make it more difficult for the Legislature to raise taxes.
Advisory Vote No. 8 involves the Legislature’s decision that the state’s new legal marijuana growers can’t have some of the tax preferences that most other agricultural businesses have. Requiring them to pay a mixture of business and occupation, sales, utility and litter taxes will bring the state an estimated $25 million over the next 10 years. The bill passed 47-0 in the Senate and 55-42 in the House.
Complete Coverage
Legislature asking voters for advice on tax rate changes
Washington voters are asked their “advice” this fall on decisions the Legislature made this spring to change tax rates for marijuana and for some tribal lands. But the Legislature isn’t obliged to heed the results of Advisory Votes 8 and 9, and, if history holds, won’t even revisit the issues if voters say they should be repealed.