Washington state may pass a state income tax. New Jersey residents please tell me how it has worked in your state. (sales, to buy)

[kanhawk]

Washington is one of the few states without an income tax. Powerful people in my state ,including Bill Gates Sr., are trying to pass a referendum in November for an income tax.
I read New Jersey passed an income tax back in the 1970s. How do you think it has worked for you? Would you recommend Washington also pass this kind of tax?

[doc1]

Washington state may pass a state income tax. New Jersey residents please tell me how it has worked in your state.

Our politicians and their friends and cronies can't seem to get enough of it. Will yours be any different?

And as far as them saying "the money will only be used to fund X,Y and Z", well..........

[Kracer]

Once passed it will grow before your eyes.

Watch out for the 'dedicated taxes' as they end up in the general fund.

Follow those taxes to their ultimate disposition or put up with financial legislative incompetence which begets more taxation.

Any tax proposed should be dedicated and have an expiration date.

Don't know why we the people can't draw a line in the sand and say to prospective representatives, this is the budget you must work within. If you aren't creative enough to find efficiencies in the system you will be replaced before the next scheduled election.

We got the income tax from a guy who claimed he wouldn't pass an income tax. Then in 9os the chant was, "Florio free in 93". How tolerant is your electorate of lies and incompetence? NJ doesn't mind at all.

There is a glimmer of hope with the new gov.

Best of luck!

[AnesthesiaMD]

Our income tax was instituted in 1976 to lessen the burden of property taxes.

Good thing they did, too. Otherwise, we might have very high property taxes today.

[PDD]

NJ has always invented new ways(taxes) to take care of budget shortfalls. The state income tax took care of that just like the sales tax and just like the lottery and just like gambling in AC and just like the next brilliant way to solve budget shortfalls.

[donald cherry]

why cant we get a soda tax,like new york,hell lets start a candy tax.............oh we have that already,that what nj needs more of tax..........can we tax the air???????????

[MaverickDD]

Do you know that we even tax LUST in New Jersey? No joke. We have the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Tax, known tongue-in-cheek as the LUST tax.

Regarding OP's original question, if there is one thing Washingtonians can learn from New Jersey, New York, California, and other socialist states it's this: The more authority you give your government to take away its citizens' money, the more it will. Politicians use the money to buy votes thru expansive government spending, the result being that government spending is a bottomless pit. The more our elected officials can extract from us without either losing their jobs or starting an uprising, the more they will.

Citizens in America's socialist states have destroyed themselves and their states by permitting incrementalism - the gradual increase of numerous taxes until the whole is too great to bear - one of the greatest threats to a well-run regulated capitalistic economy. In time, the magnitude of money needed to fund the government becomes so great that it's ruinous to the citizenry. America's socialist states now find themselves in this position.

I was just in Seattle last week and experienced the pleasure of your 9.5% sales tax rate. Your citizens want an income tax on top of that? State of Washington friends... take advice from Nancy Reagan and JUST SAY NO!

[bradykp]

Dang - what's sales tax in Washington state? I imagine high since you haven't had income tax. I'm not sure why the few states left with no income tax would want to change that - it's a big draw for retired folks.

but in the end, if you want services, you have to pay taxes. What services are you willing to relinquish (of course, everyone always lists the ones they don't use - but really, of the ones you use - what would you give up?).

[babo111]

Bottom-line is its all same sh*t.

Taxes overall never go down. One tax may go down but another form of tax will go up to cover the gap...so bottom-line is that it's all same. Less income tax means the gap is covered by something else...

[Luke9686]

Originally Posted by kanhawk

Washington is one of the few states without an income tax. Powerful people in my state ,including Bill Gates Sr., are trying to pass a referendum in November for an income tax.
I read New Jersey passed an income tax back in the 1970s. How do you think it has worked for you? Would you recommend Washington also pass this kind of tax?

Once the taxes come, the insane spending will shortly follow.

Why politicians are allowed to take advice from unelected civilians is beyond me...