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OLYMPIA–The Senate Ways & Means Committee will hold a public hearing on January 14 at 4 p.m. on the Governor’s proposed income tax on capitals gains (SB 5096). Remote testimony is available and it is super easy to sign up for (I’ve already registered). The bill defines “Federal net long-term capital gain” as “the net long-term capital gain reportable for federal income tax purposes…” Senate Bill 5096 also says “taxpayers owing tax under this chapter must file, on forms prescribed by the...
It has been 262 days since the Governor first declared an emergency relating to COVID-19. Since that time, the Governor has continued to extend emergency declarations and issued various economic restrictions. New economic restrictions were again imposed on November 15. Despite repeated bipartisan calls for the legislature to be brought into these decisions, the Governor has refused to call a special session. This has resulted in nearly nine months of the executive branch making decisions...
By Jason Mercier With the state’s budget outlook in the news, discussion of a capital gains tax is occurring with greater frequency. There is one piece of information that is consistently left out, however: the fact that a capital gains tax is an income tax. This important detail dramatically changes the political and legal framework for the debate. On the political side is the fact the voters have rejected 10 straight income tax proposals, including 6 proposed constitutional amendments. On t...
OLYMPIA–Washington’s economic outlook has dramatically changed due to the global COVID pandemic and Governor Inslee’s subsequent order in March to lock-down the state economy. When the 2020 legislative session opened in January, the state was in the midst of strong economic growth leading to the opportunity for tax relief. Instead, lawmakers used that tax growth to increase the state budget even higher. Then the global COVID pandemic turned the state’s financial outlook upside down. Washing...
OLYMPIA–We’ve been warning for years that the real plan behind the capital gains income tax proposals in the state legislature was to set up a lawsuit in hopes of imposing a graduated income tax without a constitutional amendment. Thanks to recent legislative public records, you don’t have to take our word for it anymore. Consider the following 2018 email from Sen. Jamie Pedersen: “But the more important benefit of passing a capital gains tax is on the legal side, from my perspective. The oth...
Having written for the last several years about the scheme to impose a capital gains income tax, I often receive emails from citizens across the country trying to figure out what is going on in Washington. This is especially true considering the fact the state Department of Commerce runs a website boasting about the lack of an income tax in Washington and why it is a "competitive advantage." State Treasurer Davidson has also repeatedly stated why not having an income tax is positive for...
