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Washington already has sufficient revenues to fund its paramount duty, and then some

Yesterday Kriss wrote about the version of the capital gains tax bill that the House passed this week. The intent section of the bill states, The legislature finds that it is the paramount duty of the state to amply provide every child in the state with an education, creating the opportunity for the child to […]

New working families’ tax exemption will provide up to $1,200 per year to low-income Washingtonians

The Legislature has passed ESHB 1297. As passed, a working families’ tax exemption will be provided for certain individuals for sales taxes paid after Jan. 1, 2022. (The first payments will be made in FY 2023.) Individuals are eligible if they are also eligible for the federal earned income tax credit (or would qualify for […]

House passes capital gains bill

Emily and I have written previously about the Senate’s progressive capital gains tax bill ESSB 5096 (here, here, here and here), which the Senate passed on March 6. On Friday (April 16) the House Finance Committee took up the bill in executive session, adopted a striking amendment, and passed the amended bill. Yesterday (April 21) […]

Seven cities will again receive payments to mitigate sales tax revenue loss, through FY 2026

Gov. Inslee has signed ESHB 1521. Under the bill, the state will restart payments to certain local taxing districts to mitigate “the negative fiscal impacts to local taxing jurisdictions as a result of the streamlined sales and use tax agreement.” The payments will equal the payment each local taxing district received on June 30, 2020. […]

Businesses that lost 25% of revenues last year may ask for property tax deferrals under bill signed today

Today Gov. Inslee signed ESHB 1332. The bill requires county treasurers to grant due date extensions for property taxes payable in 2021 for businesses that lost at least 25% of their revenue from leasing or renting the property or from their business activities at the property in CY 2020 (compared to CY 2019). Requests for […]

To fund housing programs, bill would impose a $100 document recording surcharge

The House-passed operating budget assumes passage of HB 1277. As passed by the House, E2SHB 1277 would impose a $100 surcharge on recorded documents. (Some documents would be exempt from the surcharge, including documents recording births and marriages.) Of the revenues from the surcharge, 5% would go to the affordable housing for all account (for […]

To opt out of the long-term care program, private coverage will have to be purchased by Nov. 1

In 2019, the Legislature passed a payroll tax to fund a new long-term care (LTC) benefit. Under the legislation, the tax will begin on Jan. 1, 2022 and will initially be set at a rate of 0.58%. There is no cap on the wages subject to the tax. The lifetime maximum benefit is essentially $36,500 […]

Legislature passes captive insurance bill that will increase state revenues

The Legislature has passed 2SSB 5315, which will subject captive insurers to the 2% premium tax. Captive insurers are insurance companies controlled by the entities they insure. We wrote about the policy in a policy brief earlier this year. The bill is expected to increase revenues to funds subject to the outlook by $34.2 million […]

New brief: State Revenues Are Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels

State revenues are now expected to match the pre-pandemic Feb. 2020 revenue forecast. Revenues in 2019–21 are now forecast to be $52.334 billion (an increase of 13.6% over 2017–19). In 2021–23, revenues are expected to grow by 8.2%, to $56.615 billion. In 2023–25, revenues are expected to grow by 5.8%, to $59.906 billion. Given the […]

The 2020 revenue rollercoaster has returned to where it started, and the current budget balances without increasing taxes or using the rainy day fund

State revenues from funds subject to the outlook (NGFO) are now back to what was expected in Feb. 2020—the forecast on which the current budget was based. Kriss wrote about today’s revenue forecast here. Compared to Feb. 2020, revenues are now expected to be down $355.47 million for 2019–21, up $297.67 million for 2021–23, and […]