Category Archives: Tax Policy

More on the Slow Motion Default in Wenatchee

In December we passed a bill out of Ways and Means, and then the House, but not the Senate that would have allowed Wenatchee to solve its own problems about financing their money-hemorrhaging arena, the Town Toyota Center. The region … Continue reading

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Washington State and local taxes drop to lowest level in 50 years

The DOR released this as part of their “Revenue Update” for the month. Washington’s state and local taxes (as a percent of personal income) dropped to their lowest level in 50 years in Fiscal Year 2009, according to new figures … Continue reading

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Internet Sales Growth Explosive, Compared to In-Store Sales

The following article was sent to me by the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Governing Board, an organization representing more than half the states that charge sales tax. In it you see the shift to Internet retailing and the consequent … Continue reading

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K-12 Funding Proposal – Additional Data

I am posting CSV versions of the two data tables as several people have requested the data in searchable formats. We are typically careful about doing this as people can manipulate the data in ways that say different things than … Continue reading

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K-12 Funding Proposal – Local Levy Swap

I’m stepping outside my role as Ways and Means chairman to put out a personal proposal for comment. The idea described below is a big one, moving around about a billion dollars in property taxes that are used for the … Continue reading

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Good Washington Post Op-Ed on Federal Budget

Rep. Alan Simpson (former GOP senator from Wyoming) and Erskine Bowles (former Clinton budget director) produced a difficult but rational plan for dealing with the pernicious federal budget/debt/economy problem. It’s difficult because it asks people to leave their sacred cows … Continue reading

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School Levies

For the past two years we’ve had a group of technical experts working on proposals on how to fix school levies. They just released their report, available here. The report is amazingly detailed and is a great introduction into how … Continue reading

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Ross Elected chairman of Ways and Means

Earlier this week the House Democrats voted to make me chairman of the Ways and Means committee in the House, responsible for tax policy and crafting the biennial budget. I’m pleased that my co-workers believe I am capable of leading … Continue reading

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Jobs Strategy

Our nation is in its worst economic crisis since World War II, 75 years ago. Washington is not immune to the national economy. Like almost every state we face crippling unemployment and many people have lost significant portions of their … Continue reading

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Tech Jobs in Washington

Last week I met with the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) to talk about their agenda for 2011. No surprise, it’s about jobs here in Washington. What surprised me was how they chose to spend their time in the meeting. … Continue reading

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