Washington Revenue Picture Improves, Setting Up A Looming Battle Over State Budget

By Austin Jenkins
Washington state Capitol building in Olympia, March 10, 2021. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3
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

Washington State Lawmakers May Pass New Wealth Taxes This Year. Here’s A Breakdown

By NWPB News
Washington House representatives listen to testimony,, Jan. 24, 2019, before they unanimously voted to approve a code of conduct for the Legislature. CREDIT: TED S. WARREN/AP
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

Tax A Billionaire, Raise Some Cash? It’s An Idea Washington State Democrats Are Floating

By Austin Jenkins
Forbes tracks the world's billionaires in almost real time. Now, a group of Washington House Democrats want to impose a wealth tax on Washington's billionaires.
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

Road Ahead May Charge Drivers By The Mile, But Change Rolls Out Slowly On Northwest Roads

By Tom Banse
The Washington State Transportation Commission recommended implementing a pay-per-mile road charge at a meeting Tuesday, Dec. 17. CREDIT: WSDOT
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

Washington’s $30 Car Tabs Initiative On Hold, And Tim Eyman Calls For People Not To Pay Anything

By Tom Banse
Initiative sponsor Tim Eyman spoke outside the Washington State Supreme Court on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3
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

Garfield County Is Washington’s Least Populous. It’s Joining A Suit To Stop I-976’s $30 Car Tabs

By NWPB News
Garfield County Transportation Authority driver Gene Smith helps 96-year-old resident Louise Munday board a commuter bus on Nov. 15, 2019. Munday uses local transit five days a week and, with her limited mobility, the service to her door is necessary. CREDIT: Emily McCarty/Crosscut
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

Jay Inslee Proposes Big Boost In State Spending, New Taxes In Two-Year Washington Budget

By Austin Jenkins
Gov. Jay Inslee announced his proposed budget for the 2019-21 biennium at a Capitol news conference Dec. 13, 2018. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3
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
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