The Millionaires’ Tax Will Hurt Washington’s Hispanic Community | Opinion

Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, represents the 15th Legislative District. Juan Martinez is director of strategic expansion at The LIBRE Initiative.

For many Hispanic families in Washington, the journey to the Evergreen State was fueled by a simple, powerful hope: the American Dream. Whether our families arrived generations ago to work the fertile soil of the Yakima Valley or moved here recently to start a small business in the Puget Sound, we share a common bond: a relentless work ethic and a desire to build a better life for our children.

But today, that dream is under pressure from an unlikely source: our own state government in Olympia.

Currently, the legislature is considering Senate Bill 6346, which would impose a 9.9% tax on high earners.

Experts warn that the proposal would do more harm than good for Washington’s economy and working families. Higher taxes on top earners and businesses could drive employers and high-wage jobs out of the state. An increased tax burden on small businesses and professionals could translate into higher costs for consumers and reduced investment in local communities.

As a state senator representing the 15th District and The LIBRE Initiative’s director of strategic expansion, we have seen firsthand what happens when government overreach meets the kitchen table. For the Hispanic community, “inflation” isn’t just a headline, it’s the extra $50 a week spent at the gas pump that could have gone toward a child’s new shoes or the electric bill.

In Washington, we are already paying some of the highest gas prices in the nation. This isn’t just an inconvenience for those of us who commute to work or transport agricultural goods; it is a tax on our mobility and our independence. For the thousands of Latino entrepreneurs who drive our state’s economy The landscapers, the contractors, and the delivery drivers energy and fuel are not luxuries, they are the lifelines of their businesses.

When the state increases the cost of doing business through hidden taxes and burdensome regulations, it doesn’t just hurt “big business”, it hurts the familia trying to make ends meet. It forces the small business owner to choose between raising prices on their neighbors or cutting staff members’ hours.

We’ve seen this story before. For decades, many in our community fled countries where government mismanagement and out-of-control costs destroyed the middle class. We came here because we value the rule of law, limited government, and the freedom to thrive. We shouldn’t have to fight those same battles in Washington State.

Our state leaders should be focusing on policies that expand opportunity, not those that restrict it. We need a “path to prosperity” that includes lower energy costs, a simplified tax code, and an environment where a person’s success is determined by their hustle, not by a bureaucrat’s pen.

The Hispanic community is no longer a “silent” part of Washington’s electorate. We are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the state, and our values of faith, family and hard work are the very values that will define Washington’s future. But for that future to be bright, we must be able to afford to live in the communities we serve.

We urge our colleagues in Olympia and our neighbors across the state to stand with us in opposing Senate Bill 6346. Let’s keep Washington a place where the American Dream isn’t just a memory of the past, but a reality for the next generation.

It’s time to stop the tax hikes and start prioritizing the hardworking families who are the true engine of our state.