Legislative Lookahead: WA lawmakers aren't afraid of the 'T-word' this year

Taxes are usually something Republicans like to criticize and Democrats prefer not to talk much about.

But this year feels a bit different.

Majority Democrats in the state Legislature aren’t shying away from talking about the T-word. In fact, they seem to be getting serious about possibly enacting a new state capital gains tax.

RELATED: Democrats pushing capital gains tax in Olympia

What explains the shift?

Democrats increasingly appear to view the topic of tax fairness as a winning issue that is both a matter of good public policy and good politics.

“We’re 50th out of 50 states in tax fairness," says Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig. "And I don’t think we should wait any longer than we need to, to help middle class and working class families to have some better tax equity in this state.”

Billig was talking, in particular, about implementing a new tax on capital gains over $250,000 per year.

Democrats have been talking about a capital gains tax for a decade, and now, the idea has momentum — even if Republicans are calling the effort, as Senate Republican Leader John Braun put it, a "money grab masquerading as tax reform."

This story has been updated.

Listen to the full interview with Northwest News Network's Austin Jenkins by clicking on the audio above.