New taxes on the wealthy and Big Tech, and a sales tax cut for everyone

Plus a Ferguson campaign tidbit and some recommended reading

For years, progressives in Washington have called for more taxes on the wealthy as a matter of fairness, arguing that the existing system falls heavily on the poor and lightly on the rich—both of which are true.

But they were mostly making a tax sufficiency argument along the lines of, “We need more money for virtuous government spending,” not a true tax fairness argument. The difference is unless you spend on increasing the Working Families Tax Credit, making billionaires pay more doesn’t do anything to lighten the burden of a sales tax that tops 10% in many parts of the state, not to mention the confiscatory “sin” taxes on tobacco, weed, and booze.¹

So perhaps the most unexpected aspect of Senate Democrats’ giant package of tax proposals is an actual tax cut that would benefit every Washingtonian: A half-point reduction in the state’s 6.5% sales tax. That’s about $1.3 billion a year back in folks’ pockets. Some rough math: If your family spent $10,000 on things subject to the sales tax in a year, a half-point break works out to 50 bucks.

Shutterstock couldn't deliver an ostrich-hide wallet.

Or, if you’re a cynic, you could think of it as a bribe for the general public to look the other way while the state looks to take billions out of the ostrich-hide wallets and Hermès purses of the wealthy, along with the profit margins of some of the state’s largest corporations.

We’ll get back to the targets of this package in a bit after we look at who it doesn’t com after. But first, some housekeeping:

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Sadly, we’re postponing our event

We had been scheduled to gather in person for a spicy debate on the budget and related tax issues on Tuesday, March 25, but we’ve been preempted by the House Appropriations and Senate Ways & Means committees, which are now both scheduled to hear the operating budget at the same time. This will siphon off at least half our panelists and likely many attendees. Stay tuned for rescheduling information.

PQ

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