Elizabeth Hovde explains that our state doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to living within its means

Elizabeth Hovde
Washington Policy Center

The Washington state Legislature passed Initiative 2111 into law Monday. The initiative to the Legislature bans the state and its localities from adding an income tax to the pile of taxes Washingtonians already pay, including state and local sales taxes. The initiative would have gone to the November ballot if not passed by lawmakers.

It was a hold-your-nose vote for some, but the policy still passed with wide bipartisan margins (76-21 in the House and 38-11 in the Senate). The vote shows respect for Washington state voters who repeatedly say “no” to an income tax. Our income-tax-free status is one of the things that has helped make Washington state an attractive place to live, work and employ. Adding an income tax in a state with a high sales tax, property taxes, a growing list of payroll taxes and a plethora of other taxes and fees would harm workers and taxpayers.

This batch of state lawmakers should go even further and find a way to pass a constitutional amendment banning the imposition of an income tax in Washington state before the legislative session adjourns. That would take skill. The last day of the session is Thursday. If this doesn’t happen this week, it should be a priority next session.

Workers could then be confident lawmakers won’t repeal the initiative’s ban and push an income tax in the future. Right now, after two years, I-2111 could be repealed or amended by a simple majority vote of the state Legislature.

Our state doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to living within its means. Instead, Washington state leaders have shown a fondness for tax increases and additional taxes so it can grow the government’s role and live outside of previous means. The current leadership in Olympia has seen to taxing Washingtonians more even in times of budget surplus and record-high inflation, offering no broad-based tax relief.

In 2017, an income-tax-prohibiting constitutional amendment was proposed in SJR 8204. It failed the Senate in a 27-22 vote. Maybe it would pass now, if lawmakers voted what they meant and meant what they voted.

Elizabeth Hovde is a policy analyst and the director of the Centers for Health Care and Worker Rights at the Washington Policy Center. She is a Clark County resident.

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