From 2000 to 2024, business and occupation tax collections increased by 269.5%. Businesses also pay sales taxes, property taxes, and many other state and local taxes. A new report from the Council on State Taxation finds that businesses paid 50.0% of all state and local taxes in Washington in fiscal year 2024.

Washington businesses paid $10,400 in state and local taxes per employee. This was the 11th highest amount among the states, and 20.9% higher than the $8,600 average paid nationally. Meanwhile, according to the Tax Foundation, Washington’s tax competitiveness is the nation’s sixth worst.

The business tax burden in Washington is high, even before last year’s historically large tax increases are incorporated in the data. Further, Washington’s tax structure has become less competitive over the past several years. Washington has many advantages as a state, but the tax burden is increasingly a counterbalance.

Read the report here.