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Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair’s 2019–21 operating budget proposal would increase spending by $7.5 billion

Today the Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair proposed a 2019–21 operating budget that would appropriate $52.172 billion from funds subject to the outlook (NGFO). This is an increase of $7.5 billion over enacted 2017–19 appropriations. It is $687.9 million less than the budget proposal that was passed by the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. […]

New policy brief: House Appropriations Chair’s Proposed Operating Budget Would Increase Spending by $8 Billion

The House Appropriations Committee Chair has proposed a 2019–21 operating budget that would appropriate $52.811 billion from funds subject to the outlook (NGFO). This is an increase of $8.150 billion (18.2 percent) over 2017–19 appropriations. This increase would be the largest in at least 25 years, after a 17.9 percent increase in 2005–07 and a […]

House Appropriations Chair proposes a 2019–21 budget that would increase spending by $8 billion

The House Appropriations Chair has proposed a 2019–21 operating budget that would appropriate $52.811 billion from funds subject to the outlook (NGFO). That’s a 18.2 percent increase over enacted 2017–19 appropriations. Of the $8.150 billion increase, $5.834 billion is maintenance level (the cost of continuing current services) and $2.316 billion is from new policies. Revenues […]

U.S. Supreme Court decides against state of Washington in tribal tax case

In Washington State Department of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the Washington Supreme Court. In 2017, the state Supreme Court ruled that a fuel distributor owned by a member of the Yakama Nation does not have to pay state fuel taxes on fuel it transports from Oregon to […]

Budgets (including revenue packages) will be proposed next week

Today’s media availability with Senate and House Democratic leaders focused on the upcoming budget process. House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan said that the House is planning to release its 2019-21 operating budget proposal on Monday, and he expects it will be passed by the House by the end of next week. Senator Marko Liias said […]

Washington’s tax structure brings in considerable revenues

Last week, a KUOW story claimed that Washington’s tax structure “means Washington taxes are low compared to other states, on average. States that tax people based on income bring in higher revenues.” This is just not the case. As we showed in a recent report, Washington’s state and local taxes per capita were $5,050 in […]

New brief: A Tax Expenditure Budget Wouldn’t Improve State Tax Policy

In a new policy brief, we look at a proposed “tax expenditure budget.” PSHB 1703 would expire tax preferences (the state’s collective term for exemptions, exclusions, deductions, deferrals, credits, and preferential tax rates) unless they are readopted by the Legislature each biennium as part of a “tax expenditure budget.” Washington’s current tax preference review process […]

A new proposal to lower the B&O tax rate for manufacturers

A bill has been introduced in the Legislature that would reduce the business and occupation (B&O) tax rate for many manufacturers. Currently, the rate ceiling for manufacturers is 0.484 percent, but certain manufacturing activities face lower rates in current law. For example, commercial aircraft manufacturing and timber or wood products manufacturing have rates of 0.2904 […]

Gov. Inslee’s tax proposals have been introduced in the Legislature

The 2019 legislative session began yesterday. The main to-do this year, of course, is the 2019–21 budget. Gov. Inslee’s proposal, which we wrote about here, would increase spending from funds subject to the outlook by $9.973 billion and taxes by $3.689 billion. The tax package includes a capital gains tax and an increase to the […]

New policy brief: Washington Businesses Pay More Than Half of State and Local Taxes

The upcoming legislative session will feature discussions about whether new revenues are necessary; inevitably there will be legislative proposals to increase business taxes. According to a report from the Council on State Taxation, businesses in Washington paid 50.1 percent of state and local taxes in 2017, well above the U.S. average of 43.7 percent. Additionally, […]