The Democrats’ New Tax Push Is Just Getting Started

As voters begin to consider their options in the current midterm election cycle, one trend is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: a growing appetite for higher taxes among Progressives at nearly every level of elected office. As a recent Wall Street Journal editorial put it, “everywhere you look across the country, they’re aiming to grab more taxpayer cash.”

What makes this moment particularly striking is that it is not being driven by fiscal emergency. In fact, state revenues have surged in recent years. Between 2019 and 2025, revenues across all state governments increased by 43%, which was twice the inflation rate. Democratic elected officials are putting their greed on full display.

In California, New York, and Washington, Democrats’ proposals target not just income but also wealth, capital gains, estates, and even unrealized or illiquid assets. The editorial cited that:

“Washington state was once a zero-income tax refuge for entrepreneurs like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Starbucks’ Howard Schultz. No longer. Democrats have passed a 9.9% income tax on millionaires, despite a state constitutional ban on a graduated income tax.”

These policies risk undermining the very economic dynamism that produced recent revenue growth in the first place. When governments begin taxing theoretical wealth or continually ratcheting up rates, they send a clear signal to investors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners: success will be penalized.

The consequences are not hypothetical. High earners and business creators are increasingly mobile, and states that overreach will drive away the tax base they depend on. Even small business owners are beginning to exit Washington for refuge in more tax-friendly states.

This trend reflects a shift in the Democratic Party’s philosophy. Rather than prioritizing growth, competitiveness, and fiscal discipline, policymakers are leaning into redistribution and expanded spending commitments. As the editorial notes:

“Democrats were supposed to have learned something from their 2024 defeat, but on fiscal policy the party is moving further left. The policies of Bernie Sanders are becoming party orthodoxy.”

Before you cast your ballot in November, ask yourself: Should we elect politicians who raise our taxes, or should we vote to sustain the conditions that make growth possible?

Read the full editorial here: Democrats Are on a Taxing Binge: Everywhere you look across the country, they’re aiming to grab more taxpayer cash.