Blog

New brief: Washington’s Steady Move to an Economic Nexus Standard for Taxes

In a new policy brief, we look at Washington’s Steady Move to an Economic Nexus Standard for Taxes. Briefly: “Nexus” means a connection, and it is a determinant of jurisdiction in tax law. Federal law is unclear as to whether a state may tax businesses without a physical presence in the state. Washington has used […]

Policy issues on the Seattle horizon

Earlier this week the Seattle City Council approved its 2017 work program (via Seattle City Council Insight). Although details are scant, the program provides some idea of the issues councilmembers want to work on this year. Much of the program is carried over from last year, but there are several new items of interest. Affordable […]

New report: Toward a More Effective Tax Appeals Process for Washington

In a new special report, we take a look at Washington's tax appeals process. Here's the executive summary: The Council on State Taxation (COST) notes that the U.S. tax system works because of voluntary compliance; thus, it is imperative that the system be perceived “to be balanced, fair, and effective” (Lindholm et al. 2016). Washington’s […]

Another education funding plan in the mix

There are now several options on the table as to how to comply with the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. Gov. Inslee’s proposal and the House-passed ESHB 1843 would increase education spending but stay within the current funding structure (see this policy brief for more). The Senate-passed SSB 5607 would also increase spending but would […]

Tax Foundation primer on House GOP's Border Adjustment Tax proposal

House Republicans in Congress have proposed a "Border Adjustment Tax," which has generated no small amount of confusion (at a press conference this morning, Speaker Paul Ryan commandeered reporters' audio recorders for an impromptu tutorial). Yesterday The Tax Foundation issued a guide to understanding the proposal. Its key findings: In 2016, the House Republicans released […]

Washington state Number Two in the nation for gas tax

The Tax Foundation is out with its annual rankings for state gas taxes (see map below), and Washington ranks second in the nation at 49.4 cents per gallon (numbers don't include the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon). But before you start wringing your hands, consider the Foundation's take on this particular form of […]

90 Seconds podcast: Washington ranks high for business tax burden

Highlights from the new education funding proposal

[Update 3:49pm — Legislative language has now been released — see here.] As Mary noted yesterday, the Senate Majority Coalition has released its education funding plan. This comes after the Republicans on the Education Funding Task Force offered only “guiding principles,” and the EFTF could not agree on recommendations to the Legislature. (For background on all of […]

New Policy Brief: Washington State Businesses Pay 58 Percent of State and Local Taxes

We're out with a new policy brief on business taxation, "Washington State Businesses Pay 58 Percent of State and Local Taxes." It gives an overview of how and how much Washington businesses are taxed, and compares us to the rest of the country. Here are some highlights: The percentage of Washington’s private sector gross state […]

Gov. Inslee’s education proposal would increase spending by $3.9 billion and add $4.4 billion in new taxes

Today Gov. Inslee released his proposal to increase education spending in the 2017–19 biennial budget. Some of this proposed spending is related to the McCleary decision. According to the governor’s policy brief, the proposal “includes the final steps of addressing teacher compensation and ending the decades-long overreliance on local levies for basic education.” It throws […]