Proposed Income Tax for Washington State

Washington State is one of only four US states that do not collect income tax from its residents. Despite this, Washington still ranks as one of the costliest states to live in, with a sales tax at nearly 10% and a cost of living index that trails only slightly behind New York and California. Add to this the high property taxes, and Washington state residents are already paying higher taxes than residents in other states where income tax is collected.

And yet, taxes in Washington State may become even more onerous depending on the upcoming November election. Proposition I1098 proposes instituting selective income tax in the State of Washington, and many Washington residents are excited to hear it. Why? Because only individuals earning over $200,000 a year or couples earning over $250,000 a year will become subject to the new income tax law. In the single sweep of a pen, a select group of individuals will be required to pay for the privileges of everyone else.

To sweeten the proposal, Washington residents are offered a bribe. Their own property taxes will be lowered, if the proposal goes through. According to the Seattle Times, the initiative is heavily funded by labor unions who have contributed over a million Dollars as well as Bill Gates, Senior, who is the brain behind the proposal.

With a deficit nearing bankruptcy and a weakening economy, Washington State proposes to withdraw large amounts of money from individuals to place it in the hands of government bureaucrats. Individuals whose only fault is the audacity to make money, will be penalized twice by the new income tax proposal. They will pay income tax which they have never paid before, as well as lose the sales tax write-off, which residents from none income tax states are eligible to make on their Federal tax return.

At a time when costs are rising but incomes are sinking, Washington State proposes to abandon its final fiscal attraction-the absence of a state income tax. While on the face of it, only a select group will be punished for success, the truth is far more sinister. Initiative I1098 will empower government to expand the Washington state income tax law to all residents within 2 years.

History proves that when government is granted the right to tax a few, it invariably expands to taxing the many. A selective income tax in Washington state will become a collective tax, draining more and more money out of the economy and the hands of individuals to be spent by government officials who think they know best when it comes to spending our hard earned income.