sales tax

(Runtime 1:02)On Monday, Walla Walla’s county commissioners chose not to pass a sales tax increase that would have raised $1.1 million a year for…

Benton County Commissioners approved to move forward with a new sales and use tax.

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.

Washington ranks as the worst state for low-income earners to live, and it's notably worse than others. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) places Washington, Texas and Florida at the top of the "terrible 10" list in its annual report.

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.

The Supreme Court ruled June 21 that states can collect state sales taxes from online retailers on consumer purchases. The decision overruled a decades-old precedent that had protected out-of-state sellers from being required to collect such taxes.

County governments are pushing back against Washington state over who should pay for certain services. The counties are upset the state has imposed a number of requirements on county government without additional funding.