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I think that it is like putting a small hole in a dam and watching it get bigger. If one reads history, and some will remember that the Federal income tax was only started to fund one war!
We can not trust government that they would not. lower the income range in years to come.
Actually, you can trust the Washington State Legislature to put the income tax on everyone. After they changed the law that was voted by the people, they have shown that they have no regard for what we tell them. The incumbents need to get a clear message by being voted out. Those that are left standing just may get the message.
Income tax is a progressive tax. That means that the more you earn, the more you pay. Sales tax is a regressive tax, That means that the less you earn the more you pay. Even if the income tax were extended, it would be fair to those who are paying.
Read the front page of today’s Seattle Times to get the truth about 1098.
It takes more than a tax being fair for all to make it the right thing to do.
if the imposition of an income tax were coupled with a SUBSTANTIAL reduction in the sales taxes, with a limitation on the amounts of both, that would be a great start to bring fiscal sanity to this State. An income tax when there is a 9%+ sales tax makes no sense.
Think that Olympia can handle that?
A 9%+ sales tax plus income tax is not unheard of in other states:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_States#State_by_state_sales_taxes
@Paul That is part of my point. The distrust of the voters to allow an income tax into this State is, I don’t think based on anything but our experience with the patchwork of regressive taxes we have. The regressive taxes never go down, and one of the reasons we have a high sales tax (though not the highest) is because we don’t have an income tax.
Anyone who is paying attention knows that we would likely see the legislature just add to the taxes (income and sales) without restructuring anything. Although I favor an income tax, the folks who disagree have very valid and realistic concerns which makes this initiative a difficult one to decide on.
Wow, Diane T. — there’s at least one other Washington voter who thinks what I think! I would absolutely favor cautious exploration of a broad-based graduated income tax if Olympia could be trusted to keep the exercise revenue-neutral. Sadly our state legislature is unprofessional, cowardly and untrustworthy; they dodge difficult decisions by overreliance on referenda and have a long track record of ignoring sequestration / anti-raiding rules tacked onto various funds. Our terrible, haphazard, jury-rigged tax picture is evidence of the legislature’s incompetence. The state doesn’t have a coherent taxation strategy and 1098 won’t create one. Let’s unseat all incumbents, then have this discussion again.