Wanted: Smart, Transparent, Fair, and Adequate Tax Policy

Washington State’s tax system is terribly unfair. Our lowest income households pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than do our highest income households. This is wrong. Don’t believe it? Read all about it here and here.

It lacks transparency—do you know what your household pays in total city, county, and state taxes each year? No, you don’t, and I don’t either. Read The Seattle Times’ FYI Guy to learn precisely why our tax burden is so opaque.

It’s not adequate to fund essential government services, like basic education and early learning opportunities for our children.

It’s not stable. Because of its reliance on sales taxes, governments in Washington State can see huge swings in revenue as the economy moves through its regular ups and downs.

What can we do to improve our tax system?

Tax discussions are difficult because they can be dry and wonky, and many of us are already concerned about affording our own family’s necessities, not to mention funding essential government services. But we need a statewide, robust policy conversation on how to solve the tax mess we have today.