History of Tax Increases in Washington State..

[StealthRabbit]

Personal property tax on vehicles is low and renewal registration is no longer based on value. (Tho it was when I arrived 40 yrs ago). Again, a $35 cap for registration was voter approved, but soon became $80+ due to new fees. Cheap for those with expensive wheels, but WA had already trained me to sell my nice vehicles and buy beaters. So I pay over double my vehicle cost ($35) each of the last 25 yrs I've owned it. You do pay dearly on sales tax for buying new vehicles (minus trade-in value, UNLESS buying from private party - no sales tax reduction allowed). WA auto dealer lobby is very strong in politics.

Personal property tax kills capital intensive businesses. My 84 year old neighbor pays over $100k/ yr on personal property tax for business equipment, and he has not operated as a FT business for the last 20 yrs. But to legally retain his business assets, (for his personal use, and occasionally for profit) he must pay. Since I have 7 LLC s, I pay ~$20k personal property tax on necessary equipment such as waste baskets, desks, computers, tractors, bulldozers, paper clips.... thousands of WA businesses and farms have been forced to flee to Idaho for tax and regulatory freedom. When I attend regional business development meetings, Idaho Economic Development agencies profusely thank WA and OR for sending all the jobs and revenue to Idaho! . Over 300 businesses relocate every year.

In WA, one must also legally pay an excise tax for items purchased in a no sales tax state., But brought to, and used in WA. Personal or business assets. Few people comply, but WA department of revenue has the right and ability to track you down and collect the equivalent of WA sales tax. If your item is delivered from a non sales tax state, WA sales tax collection is required. (More prominent issue in WA areas bordering OR).

WA residents soon learn to NOT register their licensed vehicles in Oregon, as WSP captures license plates via cameras, and runs the OR registration against WA utility bills. Many people use MT registration on exotic cars, RV, boats, aircraft.... But it's illegal if determined to be for WA tax evasion, and your fines and penalties will be adequate to dissuade.

WA is definitely a nanny state, but not yet as bad as CA and OR. AK is the only Left Coast state that is not a nanny. Oregon is very close to equating with CA. WA still allows public and personal discourse, but politically, WA does not tolerate independence. The voter initiatives flow through the political jurisdiction, and quickly become what the state determines to be it's best interest, regardless of voter intent.

[rantiquity]

Originally Posted by 509

Brought to you by the Department of Revenue. Great website, well worth exploring.

https://dor.wa.gov/about/statistics-...shington-taxes

What happened in the 1980's??? Oh yeah, the Democrats took over state government.

Great learning site. Thanks to the Department of Revenue for putting it up.

Since the democrats took state control taxes big and small have increased probably each and every year.
But I am guessing liberal/democrats/the socialist wing of the party enjoys paying and enjoys seeing other pony up their hard earned cash to help the mostly liberal I-5 crowd.

[509]

The worst thing the Democrats did, was exempt the Corporations from taxes under the guise of "corporations don't pay taxes, people do".

Absolutely true, but for years with Boeing it was the Sultan of Bruini that paid the sales tax on his Boeing jets, not Washington residents. Likewise for Microsoft, Google, Amazon and a whole host of others.

There are reasons to tax corporations.

I also find it interesting that with all the huge amounts of money the state is raking in with taxes, tuition at public universities has not been reduced, nor has the Discover Pass been recinded, nor have the DNR and WFW programs been funded.

If the program benefits working people, the Democrats are not interested in funding it.

[sluggermatt15]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Personal property tax on vehicles is low and renewal registration is no longer based on value. (Tho it was when I arrived 40 yrs ago). Again, a $35 cap for registration was voter approved, but soon became $80+ due to new fees. Cheap for those with expensive wheels, but WA had already trained me to sell my nice vehicles and buy beaters. So I pay over double my vehicle cost ($35) each of the last 25 yrs I've owned it. You do pay dearly on sales tax for buying new vehicles (minus trade-in value, UNLESS buying from private party - no sales tax reduction allowed). WA auto dealer lobby is very strong in politics.

Personal property tax kills capital intensive businesses. My 84 year old neighbor pays over $100k/ yr on personal property tax for business equipment, and he has not operated as a FT business for the last 20 yrs. But to legally retain his business assets, (for his personal use, and occasionally for profit) he must pay. Since I have 7 LLC s, I pay ~$20k personal property tax on necessary equipment such as waste baskets, desks, computers, tractors, bulldozers, paper clips.... thousands of WA businesses and farms have been forced to flee to Idaho for tax and regulatory freedom. When I attend regional business development meetings, Idaho Economic Development agencies profusely thank WA and OR for sending all the jobs and revenue to Idaho! . Over 300 businesses relocate every year.

In WA, one must also legally pay an excise tax for items purchased in a no sales tax state., But brought to, and used in WA. Personal or business assets. Few people comply, but WA department of revenue has the right and ability to track you down and collect the equivalent of WA sales tax. If your item is delivered from a non sales tax state, WA sales tax collection is required. (More prominent issue in WA areas bordering OR).

WA residents soon learn to NOT register their licensed vehicles in Oregon, as WSP captures license plates via cameras, and runs the OR registration against WA utility bills. Many people use MT registration on exotic cars, RV, boats, aircraft.... But it's illegal if determined to be for WA tax evasion, and your fines and penalties will be adequate to dissuade.

WA is definitely a nanny state, but not yet as bad as CA and OR. AK is the only Left Coast state that is not a nanny. Oregon is very close to equating with CA. WA still allows public and personal discourse, but politically, WA does not tolerate independence. The voter initiatives flow through the political jurisdiction, and quickly become what the state determines to be it's best interest, regardless of voter intent.

Based on that it sounds like WA discourages doing business outside the state.

After doing research on the capital gains tax, I understand it is only on amounts >$250,000 per year. That is quite a hefty threshold.

[PS90]

I didn't see any mention of it, and maybe I just missed it, but I wonder how many "non-tax" hikes are not included on that report, such as the recent cap-and-trade on fuel. Obviously, that's not technically a "tax" but it is certainly costing the taxpayers and benefitting the state government.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by PS90

I didn't see any mention of it, and maybe I just missed it, but I wonder how many "non-tax" hikes are not included on that report, such as the recent cap-and-trade on fuel. Obviously, that's not technically a "tax" but it is certainly costing the taxpayers and benefitting the state government.

Probably quite a few. I recently went through my monthly/annual bills and summed up all the state taxes/fees on everything including pro-rating the sales tax on a new vehicle every 6-8 years. There's added taxes tacked onto everything, cell phone bill, paint, tires, utilities, the list goes on and on = 13.3% of my income, and we're not big spenders.