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Grappling with a $2 billion state budget shortfall

Yesterday’s official revenue forecast confirmed expectations that deteriorating economic conditions have plunged the state budget into a deep hole. The loss of $1.4 billion in anticipated revenue collections, combined with the need to build reserves, means lawmakers confront a problem approaching $2 billion. How they will handle is so far unclear. While it’s likely a […]

Tax increase proposals showing up on state ballots…

Stateline.org reports that taxpayers in more states will be voting on revenue increases. Tight budgets, several years of spending cuts and continued economic sluggishness explain part of the trend. But, more important than these, in several states voters have tied lawmakers hands by requiring legislative supermajorities or voter approval for tax increases. Also implicated is […]

State Supreme Court should rule on supermajority

Another year, another challenge to the voter-approved supermajority requirement for tax hikes. In my column in the Everett Herald, I say it’s time for the Court to put the issue to rest. The justices may again decide the case on procedural or technical grounds, ducking the threshold question. For example, they could conclude the group […]

New interstate comparison of business taxes – WA still high

The Council on State Taxation released its annual report on business taxes. The research, conducted by Ernst & Young LLC, is the most comprehensive analysis available. The press release highlights document the lingering effects of the recession (data are for 2010). Key findings of the study include: After falling by 0.9% in FY2009, state and […]

A business perspective on recent legislative session

That’s what I try offer in this commentary in Crosscut. Here’s how I frame it. Legislative post mortems generally report that business interests had a good session. That’s a fair but incomplete conclusion. The progress made this year in Olympia will improve Washington’s economic competitiveness. However, much more remains to be done. Let’s look first […]

Washington wins some, falls some in competitiveness rankings

In my column in the Puget Sound Business Journal today (subscriber content), I comment on Washington’s favorable ranking in a new study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Washington ranks 10th on its measure of entrepreneurship and innovation, scoring well on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) job concentration and job growth. Other high marks […]

Washington Fares Poorly in New Business Tax Rankings

According to calculations by Ernst & Young LLP, the state and local tax burden faced by businesses siting new facilities or expanding existing facilities in Washington ranks among the highest in the nation. Our Policy Brief on the report is available here. The Ernst & Young report itself is available here.

A Tax Preference is Not a Loophole

TaxVox (the blog of the Tax Policy Center) has a good post today on tax “loopholes.”  The author, Eric Toder, is responding to the faulty yet widespread use of “loopholes” as a synonym for “tax expenditures” at the federal level, but it certainly corresponds to the debate here in Washington as the legislature considers the […]

Tax Day column on assessing the tax burden

In my column in the Puget Sound Business Journal today I look at Tax Freedom Day, the level and distribution of the tax burden and how our state’s revenue structure compares with other states. It’s behind the firewall, so access is limited to subscribers. Here’s a sample. The tax discussion generally comes down to the […]

Closing tax "loopholes" won't solve the state budget problem

Kriss and I draw on our Clarifying the Role of Tax Preferences policy brief for this article in Crosscut.In both pieces, we point out the state’s already high business tax burden and the importance of tax preferences in offsetting tax pyramiding (multiple taxation of transactions in the production cycle). We also note that many so-called […]