The Washington State Supreme Court ruled Friday that a capital gains tax is constitutional, reversing a lower court’s ruling. In the court’s majority opinion, Justice Debra L. Stephens wrote that the capital gains tax is appropriately characterized as an excise tax because it is levied on the sale or exchange of capital assets and not the assets or gains themselves. Republican Sen. Lynda Wilson said the ruling surprised her. "Every other state in the union and the IRS still calls it (capital gains) an income tax," said Wilson. She said while the Constitution still prevents legislators from enacting an income tax, she expects Democrats to lower the threshold for the capital gains tax and perhaps pursue other taxes. "I do believe the people should be on guard," said Wilson. "We should be vigilant in watching what's going on." Read more: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/olympia/supreme-court-ruling-capital-gains-tax-washington/281-ba3293e4-87b1-4965-bb41-b8e567080d0f