Blog

There’s no need to raise taxes (especially if there’s no need to use the rainy day fund)

Geekwire reports that in a hearing this week on the proposed wealth tax, Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price said, of the wealth tax, “We have a $3.3 billion budget deficit that needs to be closed. There’s an easy way to close it.” Washington does not have a $3.3 billion budget deficit. The Economic and Revenue […]

Bill would tax wireless devices to purchase computers for students and teachers

HB 1450 would tax the sale of smart wireless devices to fund the purchase of computers and “associated peripheral devices” for students and teachers. (The bill was heard by the House Committee on Education this morning.) The bill would levy a tax on each retail sale of smart wireless devices in Washington. If the selling […]

Proposed covered lives tax would fund public health, but not until 2023

One of the new taxes in Gov. Inslee’s operating budget proposal is a “covered lives assessment.” This charge on health insurers would fund “new and ongoing investments in foundational public health services.” The tax has been introduced as SB 5149, and the bill was heard by the Senate Committee on Health & Long Term Care […]

New brief: Taxing Captive Insurance

Captive insurers are insurance companies that are controlled by the company, group, public entity, or individual they insure. They can provide a less costly way to manage risk. Current law in Washington does not recognize captive insurers as a distinct form of self-insurance that is different from commercial insurance. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner […]

Scenarios in the Tax Structure Work Group preliminary report

As usual, many new taxes have already been proposed in the Legislature this year. Meanwhile, there is a separate effort to more broadly study Washington’s tax structure, which won’t be complete for several years. The Tax Structure Work Group’s (TSWG) preliminary report was released at the end of December (here is the technical report). (I […]

Bill would exempt amounts businesses have received in government-funded grants and forgiven loans from the B&O tax (and other state taxes)

Through Aug. 8, 2020, 107,659 paycheck protection program (PPP) loans were made to businesses in Washington. The total amount of the loans was $12.465 billion. Nationally, $525.012 billion was loaned to 5,212,128 businesses. The program was first established in the federal CARES Act, to provide funding for businesses—mainly to keep employees on the payroll during […]

New brief: Unemployment Insurance Taxes Will Be a Headwind for the State Economy

Unemployment insurance tax rates are adjusted annually and will be much higher this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount of unemployment insurance tax paid by Washington businesses is expected to increase dramatically, from $1.12 billion in 2020 to $2.11 billion in 2021 and then to $2.99 billion in 2022. This rising UI tax […]

Another year, another capital gains tax proposal

Gov. Inslee’s 2021–23 budget proposal includes a capital gains tax, which has been introduced in the Senate as SB 5096. The bill will be heard by the Ways & Means Committee tomorrow. SB 5096 would levy “an excise tax . . . on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets.” The rate of the […]

The prospects for early action on relief this legislative session

Today is the first day of the 2021 legislative session. At the annual Associated Press Legislative Preview last week, Gov. Inslee, House Speaker Jinkins, House Minority Leader Wilcox, Sen. Dhingra, and Sen. Short talked about the session. There seemed to be agreement on the need to act quickly to provide relief, and that the rainy […]

Taxes and competitiveness

On Dec. 31, the preliminary report of the Tax Structure Work Group (TSWG) was published (the technical notes are here). (I wrote about some of the findings after they were presented by the Department of Revenue to the TSWG last month.) As part of the report, the Department of Revenue contracted with Western Washington University […]