The Columbian: Do We Care that the Tax System Is Unfair?

While our state is a bastion of progressive politics and liberal activism (for better or worse), it also has the most regressive tax system in the country. In other words, poor people in Washington pay a disproportionate amount of taxes.

Last year, a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy determined that the lowest 20 percent of earners pay 17.8 percent of their earnings in local and state taxes, while the top earners pay 3 percent. That is because Washington does not have a personal income tax or a capital gains tax and is heavily reliant upon sales tax to generate revenue. Read more