Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday signed into law a new tax on capital gains aimed at the state’s wealthiest residents. But the future of the tax is uncertain. Continue Reading Governor Signs Washington Capital Gains Tax Into Read More
Most Americans are eligible for free tax-preparation services, but the truly free options can be hard to find. If you’re not careful, you could end up using a service that says it’s free but demands payment after you’ve spent time entering your information. Read More
Washington’s improving fiscal picture isn’t an anomaly. A recent New York Times analysis shows that nearly half of states saw their revenues increase from April to December of last year. And many more experienced only slight declines. A key factor was federal aid that allowed even laid off workers to keep spending. Now, more federal money is headed to states from the Read More
Each of the proposals is different. But for many Democrats, as well as others on the political left, the goal is the same: Make the richest Washingtonians pay for COVID-19 relief programs and other services that would help people who are struggling. Democrats also say the state's current tax system is highly regressive, meaning lower-income people pay a larger share of Read More
A bill that increases the minimum weekly benefit for unemployed workers during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and prevents a dramatic increase in unemployment taxes paid by businesses was signed into law Monday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. Read More
Washington billionaires would pay a “wealth tax” under a proposal in the state House that will get a public hearing on Tuesday. The bill is sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Noel Frame, who chairs the House Finance Committee, and would impose a one percent tax on intangible financial property, such as stocks and bonds, futures contracts and publicly traded options. A Read More
The tax measures are contained in the governor's two-year, $57.6 billion operating budget proposal released Thursday in advance of the 2021 Legislative session. Separately, the Democratic governor also released proposed capital construction and transportation budgets. Read More
Joe Biden's son Hunter said he learned that "the U.S. Attorney's Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel ... that they are investigating my tax affairs." Continue Reading Hunter Biden Says He Is Under Federal Investigation For Tax Read More
There's no indication a beer tax is on tap in Olympia. But the industry isn’t taking any chances. Especially after what happened in 2010. That’s when state lawmakers imposed an increase in the beer tax as part of a plan to balance a budget hammered by the Great Recession. Read More
On Thursday, the state Supreme Court struck down Initiative 976, a measure Washington voters approved last November to reduce the cost of annual vehicle licensing fees. The measure has been on hold for nearly a year as legal challenges worked their way through the court system. Read More
President Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, according to the Times, which also says he's fighting an IRS audit that could cost him over $100 million. Continue Reading President Read More
President Trump has directed the Treasury Department to stop collecting payroll taxes this fall in an effort to boost workers' paychecks. But the move is temporary, and could spark headaches in 2021. Continue Reading Payroll Tax Delay To Boost Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little wants the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Reclaim Idaho from gathering signatures online, as the group tries to get its education funding initiative on November’s ballot. Continue Reading Idaho Read More
In two 7-2 rulings written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court allowed a subpoena in a New York criminal case but told a lower court to consider separation of powers when it comes to Congress. Continue Reading Supreme Read More
Unlike during the Great Recession, when the budget was largely balanced through spending cuts, this time around majority Democrats and their allies, like labor unions, are already signaling that tax increases are almost certain to be part of any solution. Read More
U.S. taxpayers will have a three-month extension to file their taxes because of the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday. He said that at the president's direction, "we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15." Read More
Washington state is on the verge of ending a large tax break for the Boeing Company and its parts suppliers. This is happening at Boeing's bidding to head off a bigger hit from threatened European tariffs. Continue Reading Boeing Asked Read More
The announcement was met with jubilant cheers from supporters at a campaign event at Yakima’s McCormick Air Center. Eyman said he initially considered running as an independent because initiatives he sponsored in the past — from $30 car-tabs to a ban on affirmative action in 1998 — were nonpartisan. Read More
Democratic state Rep. Lauren Davis says Washington’s current approach to helping people with substance use disorders is like a stool that’s missing two legs. While Medicaid pays for treatment, it doesn’t fund pre-treatment services which Davis calls the first leg of the stool. Read More
Two years ago, Republicans in Congress passed a sweeping tax cut. It was supposed to be a gift-wrapped present to taxpayers and the economy. But in hindsight, it looks more like a costly lump of coal. Continue Reading After 2 Read More
The panel that sets highway and bridge tolls in Washington is recommending the state follow Oregon's lead and phase in a pay-by-the-mile road tax to make up for expected declines in gas tax revenue. The nonbinding recommendation to the Washington Legislature from the state Transportation Commission drew flak from skeptical taxpayers and faces a bumpy road ahead in the 2020 Read More
Thursday was supposed to be the day that a Washington state ballot measure to lower car registration fees took effect. But the state Supreme Court has let an injunction stand against what is known as the $30 car tabs initiative. That means hundreds of thousands of drivers will get full price bills in the coming months that they thought they had voted to reduce. Read More
As expected, the initiative’s passage prompted legal action, led by Seattle-area governments and public transit supporters protesting a projected $4.2 billion cut in revenue for transportation and transit projects over the next six years. But there has been an unexpected addition to that Puget Sound-centric group: the Garfield County Transportation Authority. Read More
Eyman says his decision to run is motivated in part by legal efforts to overturn Initiative 976, his car tabs measure that voters just approved. Continue Reading Anti-Tax Ballot Initiative Sponsor Tim Eyman Says He Is Read More
The president and his lawyers are fighting two separate legal battles to gain access to his tax records. The other involves a subpoena for the documents issued by the House of Representatives. Continue Reading President Trump Read More
After bemoaning that the state's highways, bridges, ferries and rail cars "are on a glide path to failure," Washington State Department of Transportation Secretary Roger Millar laid out the case for building an ultra-high speed railway on dedicated track. Read More
Sponsored by Tim Eyman, the measure would cap most taxes paid through annual vehicle registration at $30 and largely revoke the authority of state and local governments to add new taxes and fees without voter approval. Continue Read More
Amazon’s ever-expanding footprint in Seattle — and the polarizing growing pains that accompany it — contrasts what’s currently happening in northeastern Oregon. Continue Reading Amazon To Expand Data Centers In Northeastern Oregon, Read More
A panel of lawmakers is examining property tax options amid complaints that taxes are going up with rising property values, while also hearing on Monday concerns from cities and counties that they’re operating on tight budgets. Read More
On July 1, Washington stopped letting Oregon shoppers skip paying sales tax at the register, with a few exceptions. Some businesses in southwestern Washington fear the change will drive away Oregon customers who won’t want to cross the river to shop when there is no sales tax at home. Read More
In this file video, the owner of a Spokane electronic cigarette store examines his display case. CREDIT: JESSICA ROBINSON / N3 Read On After years of debate, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is scheduled to sign into law on Tuesday a new tax on vaping products to fund cancer research and tobacco cessation and prevention efforts. But critics… Read More
In their last minute dash to adjournment Sunday, Washington state legislators revived a lapsed sales tax break for buyers of electric cars. The resurrected incentive will be similar in value to a publicly-funded rebate for battery-powered cars that Oregon now offers. A valuable tax break for buyers of fully-electric and plug-in hybrid cars in Washington expired last Read More
Washington lawmakers adjourned at midnight Sunday after majority Democrats approved an initiative to restore affirmative action and passed a $52.4 billion, two-year state operating budget. The budget relies on an array of tax increases, including on businesses and real estate transactions, but doesn't impose a new capital gains tax as had been proposed. Read More
Washington House Democrats on Monday unveiled a proposed $1.4 billion tax package, including a new capital gains tax, to fund a two-year budget with ongoing commitments to public schools, boosted spending for people with mental illness and increased reimbursement rates for a wide-range of social service providers. Read More
First, he was caught on store surveillance allegedly stealing a $70 office chair. Now Washington anti-tax activist Tim Eyman has produced his own video. It shows him returning to the scene of the alleged crime. Continue Read More
A new bill in the state legislature would ease the tax burden on working families by giving a chunk of sales tax money back to them. Continue Reading If This Bill Passes, Low-Income Washington Families Could Get A Sales Read More
The White House says, tax refund checks will be sent out, even though the IRS, part of the Treasury Department, is for the most part shuttered. Continue Reading Despite 70,000 Furloughed IRS Workers, White House Vows Tax Refunds Read More
New changes to tax law will make deducting charitable giving from next year's taxes more difficult for taxpayers. This has come as an unwelcome surprise to many who counted on end-of-the-year donations to lower their overall taxes and to charities that counted on those donations. Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is proposing a hefty $10 billion increase in state spending over the next two years to maintain current services and fund new priorities, including mental health and orca recovery. To pay for it, Inslee is once again pushing for a new state capital gains tax on high income earners as well as an increase in the business and occupation tax on Read More
Washington drivers who are thinking about buying an electric car would be wise to get down to a dealership in the next two weeks. That's because a valuable tax break disappears at month's end. Continue Reading Washington’s Electric Car Sales Read More
If Gov. Kate Brown follows through on a plan to call Oregon’s Legislature into a special session in the coming months, she might wind up giving a tax break to a sliver of the businesses she’s pledged to target. Continue Reading Read More
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is ditching part of the federal tax plan after all. After weeks of speculation on her intentions, Brown announced Friday that she’ll sign Senate Bill 1528, ensuring that Oregon won’t follow the lead of the federal government in granting a tax break to a subset of businesses. Read More
Washington homeowners would get some property tax relief in 2019 under a bill that passed the Democratically-controlled state Senate Wednesday night over Republican objections. The bill is part of a final budget deal reached with the House as the Legislature heads toward a scheduled adjournment on Thursday, March 8.
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