Will we ever learn? (Seattle: sales, real estate, buy)

[Goingnowhere]

[url]http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/tax-the-filthy-rich/Content?oid=4837455[/url] Does this make anyone else sick to their stomach that people can still be fooled so badly into thinking an income tax is bad and sales tax is good.

[MaybeWA2011]

To offer a counterpoint, my family is moving to Seattle from a state with high income tax, in large part because the absence of income tax means that we can waste less of our hard earned income by giving it to governments to burn (and believe me, we pay more than enough in federal tax). Believe me, the money we gave to the state we live in now in income tax never did us an ounce of good.

Now we will live in WA, buy real estate there and contribute to the economy. If WA did have an income tax, a large part of the incentive to move there would be absent, and WA would not attract professionals like us.

You are directing your anger at the wrong people, methinks. Why not focus on initiatives to tax stored wealth, like the bank accounts of all these WA billionaires your article mentions, rather than making your state less attractive to young professionals who are its best hope for a good economic future?

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Goingnowhere

Tax the Filthy Rich! by Eli Sanders - Seattle Features - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper Does this make anyone else sick to their stomach that people can still be fooled so badly into thinking an income tax is bad and sales tax is good.

You are a year late.

And as for your comment: "people can still be fooled so badly into thinking an income tax is bad and sales tax is good"... Look over to Oregon and tell us who has it good.

[Huckleberry3911948]

city state or fed does not matter, they have gotten too fat too inefficient and are hungry.
you cant run on debt. our governments have become disfunctional. we badly need subcontracting of the big guy instead of the little guy.

[evergraystate]

One of the few upsides to living here is the lack of an income tax. I will miss it when It I'm gone.

[cdelena]

The issue is not how taxes are collected but how they are spent. More than 50% of tax is wasted or not spent in ways that truly benefit the citizens. I certainly think we need less central control of our resources, efforts, and future.

[Ira500]

Yes, a state income tax would be a fairer way of raising revenue, but it just ain't gonna happen in the state of Washington. It's one of those sacred cows. Overall, it all kind of comes out in the wash. Sales tax is really high, gas tax is really high, business and occupation tax is really high.
Last year's proposal on the ballot to have an income tax would have reduced property taxes. I think the measure would have had a better chance of passing if they'd tied it to lower sales taxes instead. 10% sales tax is way too high.

[seattlecoming]

I'm glad Washington state doesn't have an income tax. The idea of the state grabbing a portion of the money that you earn is absolutely senseless, and people who don't work are not taxed because they are not earning an income or contributing to society. How rational is that? I hope this state never decides to impose an income tax- the lack of an income tax was 1 of many reasons I chose to move to Washington.

[Hemlock140]

The reason that income tax on the rich failed is that it was a foot in the door. People here are wary of the state government, based on past experience, and worried that it would be extended over time to lower and lower income people, and they were probably right.

[Andy]

An income tax is vile. If you want an income tax, MOVE TO OREGON. The consumption tax model is greatly superior than taxing production. When the economy turns, Washington always rides out the storm better than Oregon does. Income tax is regressive, despite contrary claims.


Washington: Income tax free & d--n proud about it!