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Brad Shannon of the Olympian outlines new taxes being contemplated for Washington State to help with the budget crisis:
- Closing the exemption for door-to-door sales of consumer products
- Add $1 to the state’s $2.025-a-pack tax on cigarettes
- Tax on bottled water
- Sales tax on candy and gum
- Closing a sales tax exemption for some out-of-state residents who buy products in Washington
- Temporary sales tax increase or expanding the sales tax to professional services
- Sales tax on services (lawyers, engineers, detectives, security brokers, credit agencies, insurers)
- Income tax on high-wage earners
- $1.50-per-barrel tax on oil (3.5 cents a gallon on fuel)
Unless a miracle happens and the economy picks up dramatically, you can be sure higher taxes are coming your way one way or another.
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9:38 pm on January 13th, 2010 1
I am not surprised, nor, to my own amazement, unable to see the necessity for these increases. Better to spread the pain, than to simply add on to home property taxes (those have already increased, at least for me, over 300% since about 1995).
The one that I am most surprised to see is Closing a sales tax exemption for some out-of-state residents who buy products in Washington. It’s about time the State of WA quits trying to fool anyone that those border-state (Portland, OR) shoppers will fail to buy in our state if we stop letting them off the hook for the sales tax, most of them are over here shopping for food, anyway, and in our state, that comes tax free (for food for home cooking and consumption, anyway). WA workers have been paying (at least 9%) in income tax to the state of Oregon for decades now, it’s past time we reciprocate.
8:31 am on March 8th, 2010 2
Another $1 added to a pack of cigarettes is just ridiculous.There simply have to be other ways to generate revenue than yet another sin tax. It is vaugely remenicent of the way the marajuana was slowly criminalized, starting by creating miles of red tape with contradictory rules,making it absurdly expensive and then slowly backing flawed medical information declarying it “dangerous” and “addictive”. While smoking cigarettes is certainly a health risk this unfair taxation is starting to feel punative instead of a legitamate tax.
While there are smokers in all socio-econmic groups, the facts are this tax is placing the burden largely on the shoulders of those who can afford it the least. Add a dollar to your morning latte and THAT would be equitable.