Washington State Capitol by Nils Huenerfuerst is licensed under CC 4.0
Democrats in the Washington have repeatedly raised taxes since they took control of both houses of the state legislature in 2018. Their policies have directly contributed to the beginning of an exodus from the state. Despite this, Washington Democrats have continued to pass legislation that will only make it more difficult for families and individuals to work and live there.
Washington families have already been subject to an avalanche of new transportation taxes, thanks to progressive majorities in the state legislature. Last year, Democrats raised the gas tax from 44 to 55 cents per gallon, and a new provision will automatically increase the tax by 2% every year.
But the new transportation budget would go even further, hitting families from the moment they buy a new car. The budget raises the vehicle sales tax from 0.3% to 0.5%. Changing a tire now comes with a $5 fee per tire, a 500% increase from the original $1. Even tourists will pay the price with a new rental car tax rate, which doubled to 11.9% under the budget. On top of that, those purchasing a luxury vehicle ($100,000 or more) will now have to pay an additional 8% sales tax. While Democratic legislators expect this to rake in over $200 million in revenue over six years, it’s likely many wealthy Washingtonians will emulate Jeff Bezos, who moved to Miami shortly after the Washington Supreme Court upheld a capital gains tax, thus wiping out half of their projected revenue in one fell swoop. After all, neighboring Oregon and Montana both have no sales tax.
In a large, mostly rural state like Washington, driving is a way of life––commuting to work, driving to school, transporting goods and services. Taxing every gallon of gas and every tire changed is takes away needed income from families.
On the business front, the legislature raised the state minimum wage from an already high $16.66 to $17.33, further increasing the cost of labor and the necessary price hike at the grocery store to pay for it. Minimum wage increases particularly impact young workers, at a time when Washington has a 14.8% youth unemployment rate.
There are less obvious tax hikes in the budget, too. An expansion of the Paid Family and Medical Leave program will require more small businesses to provide paid leave to employees that have been employed for 180 calendar days. By 2028, businesses as small as eight people will have to provide paid leave to employees. Mom-and-pop shops will now have to pass along their higher costs to consumers in a market where their prices are already higher than their larger competitors. Small businesses that can’t afford the new welfare programs will have no choice but to close their doors for good.
Washingtonians will also now subsidize people not going to work. Workers going on strike would be eligible for unemployment benefits starting at 15-21 days of striking. Instead of going on strike as a last resort, this new law will incentivize workers to strike for as long as possible, raising the cost of business which will passed on to consumers.
Washington Democrats would prefer to ignore the obvious consequences of these new laws: that people will vote with their feet and move to more affordable and economically friendlier states like Idaho, Montana, and Utah, which have all cut their taxes multiple times since 2020.
