Blog

New McCleary briefs argue Legislature’s fix doesn’t go far enough

On Wednesday the plaintiffs in the McCleary case filed a response to the state’s post-2017 session report to the Court. Four other groups also filed briefs with the Court. None agreed with the state that it is now in compliance with the McCleary decision.  The Seattle Times has a good summary of the five filings. […]

The rise of bottled water (which is now subject to sales tax)

As part of the 2017–19 operating budget process, the Legislature enacted EHB 2163 to raise revenues by making several tax changes. That includes applying the sales tax to bottled water, which is estimated to increase revenues by $54.6 million in 2017–19. The sales tax on bottled water went into effect on August 1.  So I […]

Policy Today podcast: McCleary Part 2 – Tax Revenues

Today’s episode covers the new tax revenues in the recently passed K-12 basic education funding law, which the State of Washington hopes will fulfill its obligations in the Supreme Court’s McCleary ruling. Click here to read our Special Report on the new K-12 basic education law.

Will voters keep approving school levies?

Since at least the 1970s, when the state Supreme Court ruled on the precursor to the McCleary case, the use of maintenance and operations (M&O) levies has been limited to enhancements to basic education. In practice, they were sometimes used for basic education purposes, which was part of the problem identified in the McCleary decision. […]

New special report: Has the State Finally Closed the Book on McCleary?

In a new special report, we dig in to EHB 2242, the education funding bill passed by the Legislature this session. Briefly: The Legislature has enacted EHB 2242 to continue its response to the McCleary decision. From 2011–13 to 2017–19, state funding for public schools has increased by $8.419 billion (62.1 percent). In 2019–21, the […]

Tax Foundation says the rich in America didn't pay significantly higher taxes in the 1950s

Recently The Tax Foundation looked into the commonly held belief that rich Americans used to pay much higher income taxes in the 1950s than they do today. It found that the difference between then and now isn’t actually that significant: The data shows that, between 1950 and 1959, the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid […]

Washington has highest estate tax in the nation

Last month the Tax Foundation came out with a special report on state’s inheritance and estate taxes, which included a special distinction for Washington state: The Evergreen State imposes the highest top marginal estate tax rate in the nation, imposing a 20 percent rate on taxable estate values above $9 million. The state has an […]

Our Seattle Times op-ed on manufacturing jobs & state tax policy

We have an op-ed in today’s Seattle Times on Gov. Inslee’s recent veto of a reduced Business & Occupation (B&O) tax rate for manufacturing companies in Washington state. We argue that manufacturing jobs are a crucial component of providing workers with good-paying middle-class jobs, and that tax incentives will encourage companies to come here, stay […]

The operating budget compromise included a reduction of the B&O tax rate for all manufacturers—will it be signed by the governor?

In order to balance the operating budget, the Legislature passed two bills that will increase revenues by an estimated $2.070 billion in 2017–19 and $3.358 billion in 2019–21.  The Legislature also passed SSB 5977, which includes 13 tax changes that are estimated to reduce revenues by $15.7 million in 2017–19 and $81.8 million in 2019–21. (There […]

We're Number 25…in wine taxes

Washington ranks right in the middle nationally for wine taxes, according to new numbers from the Tax Foundation. Check out their map to see how we compare to other states: