Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Washington State’s Upside-down Tax Code is Even More Racist than You Think
ITEP Work in ActionLawmakers in Olympia are finally listening to communities and rightly focusing on addressing racial disparities that have permeated our state economy and institutions for far too long. They must act immediately to reform many areas of public policy – from policing to housing, health care to employment – that serve to oppress Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in Washington state. To move Washington toward racial justice, lawmakers must also tackle our racist, upside-down tax code. New analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows the disturbing degree to which Washington’s upside-down state and local tax code perpetuates institutional racism and economic inequality.