Fixing Washington State's Broken Tax System

[eridani]

Essential references--


Economic Opportunity Institute - Washington State Budget and Tax SystemOverview http://www.eoionline.org/Taxes/WashingtonStateTaxSystemOverview.pdf

Washington Community Action Network - Make Washington's Tax System Fair for Everyone http://www.washingtoncan.org/economic/taxes.shtml

Washington State Budget and Policy Center - The Ill Effects of Property Tax Caps http://www.budgetandpolicy.org/documents/III-ill_effects.pdf

[maxsolomon]

1. great links

is there anyone in the legislature with the cojones to even broach this topic?

its going to take a change to the state constitution to institute an income tax.

another good link:

http://www.itepnet.org/wp2000/wa%20pr.pdf

[eridani]

3. Yes, Bob Hasegawa, D-11

He knows that it is going to take massive public education.

[sneakythomas]

2. From a business perspective

The tax code here is awful. I've worked for years as an accountant to mostly small businesses. The "off the top" B&O tax is terrible for startups. When a business is getting going it needs every nickel it can raise to be put back into the business. This is money that could go to employees among other things.

The sales tax takes a disproportionate bite from low-income people as well.

The thing that scares most people about an income tax, is the fear that it will just get laid on top of the B&O and sales taxes. That fear needs to be addressed.

[eridani]

4. The Fair Tax coalition makes a good case for balanced taxation

The sales tax would be reduced, but they argue that the fairest and most stable tax system taxes wealth, work and consumption. A yearly wealth tax could even replace the inheritance tax. Property tax should not be the only wealth tax--with a more inclusive wealth tax, the first $100,000 of property value could be exempt.