An enclave of Washington’s wealthy provided a backdrop Thursday for a saucy debate on the merits and dangers of a ballot measure to erase the state’s controversial new income tax on millionaires.
Brian Heywood, the hedge fund manager behind Initiative 645, and House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, argued onstage at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue that the tax is unnecessary, will drive some wealthy innovators to other states and, eventually, will be levied on people earning far less than a million dollars a year.
“It’s easy to demonize the millionaires, but they provide an important role in our community. We want capital to come here and to invest in things. It’s that growth that is fueling all the great and wonderful things,” in the state, Stokesbary told hundreds of people attending the Eastside Leadership Conference hosted by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce…