Having no state income tax just became a HUGE benefit to living in Washington.

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

Same can be said about going further west from the I-5 corridor toward the Olympic Peninsula and Clallam county.

This is True. I Like the Olympic Peninsula.

[pnwguy2]

But back to this idea of a state income tax. I'm a moderate democrat, but please, Western Washington, adding an income tax on top of an already high state sales tax is overkill. Massive taxes don't solve anything. Keep WA free from an income tax! Will damage economy bigtime.

[rkcarguy]

We have high property taxes along with some of the highest sales and gas taxes in the country. Housing "values" have gone through the roof simply because supply isn't meeting demand. For example, in 2017 Whatcom county gained nearly 6000 more people yet only built some 300 "units" of housing in the same time period.
My grandparents had a house built and moved into it in 1994 after the airport expanded and required them to be bought out. They spend about $170k, furnishings and all, on the new place. This year it was assessed at over $500,000 and now my grandmother(grandpa passed away of cancer) is paying nearly $500/month in property taxes on a place she owns. These high valuations aren't due to the wonderful job opportunities in Bellingham, as only the top ~13% of the wage earners can afford the average list price of a home here. Out of state implants and what they are willing to pay, combined with a slow and antigrowth development policies our driving our housing costs through the roof. The "implants" state that "it's so beautiful here and there is so much to do", but that is all for nothing if you can only look at it from window due to being house poor, or can't afford housing at all.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

But back to this idea of a state income tax. I'm a moderate democrat, but please, Western Washington, adding an income tax on top of an already high state sales tax is overkill. Massive taxes don't solve anything. Keep WA free from an income tax! Will damage economy bigtime.

High Sales tax is NOTHING to those of us destitute WA retirees with no income = no spending.(for last 13 yrs)

$43 / day in Property taxes (on a place I built for under $100k) seems adequate spending and over 10x what I spend on food...

(I 'rebuy' my home every 7 yrs from the tax man) He doesn't relent.

Fortunately I brew my own fuel (Yes I pay taxes on that, but at least I do not have to buy the fuel!)

50mpg since 1976, no dinosaurs required... >40,000 gal fuel saved for others to burn!

[pnwguy2]

I hear you, Stealth. I am somewhat in the same situation. I am retired, doing some side-hustle, but not enough to be taxed. I do have some savings/investments and want to be sure that I am not taxed on those by the wonderful State of Washington. So far, so good. The point is that WA in general is already a high-taxed State due to the sales tax, and adding an income tax would be redundant at the least, and detrimental to the economy at the worst.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

I hear you, Stealth. I am somewhat in the same situation. I am retired, doing some side-hustle, but not enough to be taxed. I do have some savings/investments and want to be sure that I am not taxed on those by the wonderful State of Washington. So far, so good. The point is that WA in general is already a high-taxed State due to the sales tax, and adding an income tax would be redundant at the least, and detrimental to the economy at the worst.

Actually, according to this web list (which is probably not exactly an oracle, but I think the general drift is right) WA is #33 in standing, with NY being #1 (believable)



https://wallethub.com/edu/states-wit...-burden/20494/


That said, the overall tax bite on a given individual depends on habits, and where exactly they live in a particular state.



Yeah, a pox on any and all that propose any state income tax.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

But back to this idea of a state income tax. I'm a moderate democrat, but please, Western Washington, adding an income tax on top of an already high state sales tax is overkill. Massive taxes don't solve anything. Keep WA free from an income tax! Will damage economy bigtime.

I don't think we'll ever get an income tax, no one really wants it. That said, it doesn't hurt to use the possibility as a deterrent to newcomers.

[rkcarguy]

I think if the state did add an income tax, the "exit" and resulting drop in housing and sales tax revenue from result in a big net drop for total collected taxes.