Expanding on a similar proposal from their counterparts in the Senate, House leadership proposes a nearly $1 billion withdrawal from the state’s rainy day fund to provide property tax cuts across the state for the next two years. As we noted in our response to the Senate’s plan, this is a short-sighted use of the state’s emergency savings, which are meant to help keep schools, hospitals, and other critical services running when the state experiences an economic downturn. The rainy day fund should not be used to pay for tax cuts – especially during these good economic times.
Moreover, while closing the tax break on capital gains is a significant step toward rebalancing our upside-down tax code – in which low- and middle-income Washingtonians pay up to seven times more in taxes as a share of income than the top 1 percent – dedicating that revenue to across-the-board property taxes is a missed opportunity to generate additional revenue to strengthen our communities. Higher-income households do not need more tax breaks.
Instead, lawmakers should focus on investments that lift up Washingtonians with low and middle incomes who already pay more than their fair share of taxes to support the community investments that serve us all. They should also prioritize meeting the state Supreme Court’s deadline to provide critical support for teachers and students by the start of the 2018 school year.
Lawmakers in both chambers have an opportunity to set our state on a path toward a stronger and more equitable tax code to fund thriving communities. Closing the tax break on capital gains is an excellent start.
