* Do you want to eliminate the state income tax? X Yes _ No*

The issue in Washington State is:

* Do you want to create a state income income tax where none presently exists? _ Yes X No*

Why not? For the same reason other posters have noted: Seattle has a thriving startup scene, and its comparative advantages over California are a) no income taxes; b) you can live in Seattle and not have a car; c) you can buy a condo on a vaguely normalish salary, unlike in much of L.A. and Silicon Valley. If you remove a), you've mostly got a state where the major city has weather that most people don't especially like and a taxation system that punishes the creation of wealth.

That's bad.