Washington
How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect Washington Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 16, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill would go into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals would all expire after 2025, with […]
How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect Washington Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of Washington residents.
How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect Washington Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 14, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In Washington, 54 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 12 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.
How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect Washington Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate…
GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in Washington with 63.4 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
October 4, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in Washington equally. The richest one percent of Washington residents would receive 63.4 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $624,100 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $103,120 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 5.2 percent.
In Washington 43.7 Percent of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million
August 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A tiny fraction of the Washington population (0.5 percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But this elite group would receive 43.7 percent of the tax cuts that go to Washington residents under the tax proposals from the Trump administration. A much larger group, 38.5 percent of the state, earns less than $45,000, but would receive just 4.0 percent of the tax cuts.
The Many Reasons for the Seattle Income Tax
August 10, 2017 • By Lisa Christensen Gee
A month ago, the Seattle City Council passed an income tax measure, which has garnered a lot of attention as well as volumes of supportive and opposition commentary. Haven’t had a chance to dive into the details yet? We’ve got you covered. What is the new income tax law and who does it impact? The […]
Trump Tax Proposals Would Provide Richest One Percent in Washington with 53.6 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
July 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in Washington would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $1,983,800 in 2018.
State Rundown 7/11: Some Legislatures Get Long Holiday Weekends, Others Work Overtime
July 11, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Illinois and New Jersey made national news earlier this month after resolving their contentious budget stalemates. But they weren’t the only states working through (and in some cases after) the holiday weekend to resolve budget issues.
State Rundown 6/28: States Scramble to Finish Budgets Before July Deadlines
June 28, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, several states attempt to wrap up their budget debates before new fiscal years (and holiday vacations) begin in July. Lawmakers reached at least short-term agreement on budgets in Alaska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, but such resolution remains elusive in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Explaining our Analysis of Washington State’s Highly Regressive Tax Code
June 22, 2017 • By Carl Davis
Supporters of creating a local personal income tax in Seattle are rightly concerned about the lopsided nature of their state’s tax code. In a 50-state study titled Who Pays?, produced using our microsimulation tax model, we found that Washington State’s tax system is the most regressive in the nation.
State Rundown 6/7: Kansas Success Story and Other State News
June 7, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, we celebrate a victory in Kansas where lawmakers rolled back Brownback's tax cuts for the richest taxpayers. Governors in West Virginia and Alaska promote compromise tax plans. Texas heads into special session and Vermont faces another budget veto, while Louisiana and New Mexico are on the verge of wrapping up. Voters in Massachusetts may soon be able to weigh in on a millionaire's tax, the California Senate passed single-payer health care, and more!
Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Creating a Safeguard Rebate Is Key to Equitable Property Tax Reform
January 30, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This is the fourth in a series of schmudget blog posts about property taxes in Washington state and the role they play in funding basic K-12 education. Any reform to the Washington state property tax code to help pay for schools must also take steps to make the tax code more equitable. In conjunction […]
Washington State Budget & Policy Center: Closing the Tax Break on Capital Gains
January 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A capital gain is the profit an individual receives from the sale of a financial asset. Currently, Washingtonians receive a tax break on the profits they make from the sale of high-end capital assets. This tax break contributes to our state having the most upside-down tax code in the nation, in which people with low […]
The Seattle Times: Education funding-An income tax would solve this
January 9, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
“Congratulations citizens of Washington state [“School-funding task force unlikely to have proposed fixes when Legislature convenes,” NWThursday, Jan. 5]. It is official: According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the state of Washington is now ranked No. 1 for having the most regressive tax system of all 50 states.” Read more
McClatchy DC: Undocumented students asked council to make Washington’s Bellingham a sanctuary city
November 16, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Prado said undocumented immigrants contribute about $292 million in taxes to Washington state each year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The amount would be higher with full legal status.” Read more
The Atlantic: Are Washingtonians About to Vote Down a Chance to Fight Climate Change?
November 7, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Progressives in Washington have argued for years that the state’s tax system is unfair and exacerbates inequality. Indeed, according to a 2015 report by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the poorest 20 percent of Washingtonians (who make $21,000 per year or less) pay roughly 16.8 percent of their income in taxes every […]
American Federation of Teachers: Backdoor ‘Neovouchers’ Allow Wealthy to Profit off Public Funds for Schools
October 14, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Ten U.S. states are blatantly circumventing public opposition or constitutional obstacles to publicly funded private school vouchers by allowing wealthy taxpayers to turn a profit on ‘charitable’ contributions to private schools, a report released this week by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reveals.” Read more
Think Progress: Opposition to Washington’s historic carbon tax initiative is coming from the unlikeliest of sources
October 11, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“To Bauman and his colleagues at CarbonWA, the initiative seemed like a win-win, something that would drive down carbon emissions while moving Washington’s notoriously regressive tax code — the worst in the entire country, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy — forward.” Read more
Seattle PI: Labor Day union support for Sound Transit 3
September 8, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the lowest 20 percent, those with family incomes under $21,000, pay 16.8 percent of their incomes in state taxes. The next 20 percent, with incomes of $21,000 to $40,000, pay 11.7 percent in state taxes.” Read more
The Olympian: Support Olympia by supporting Opportunity for Olympia
July 27, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy notes that Washington state has the most regressive tax structure in the country. The poorest 20 percent pay 16.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes while the richest 1 percent pay only 2.4 percent.” Read more
The Olympian: Washington state needs tax reform
June 10, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“I read with interest another commentary about an income tax being proposed in Olympia and why that shouldn’t happen. I imagine it means nothing to the writer that the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, D.C., finds our state tax system the most regressive in the nation. We have the lowest paid teachers […]
Seattle Times: Taxes like Texas: Washington’s system among nation’s most unfair
April 28, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“A problem with relying on sales taxes is that, compared with income or property taxes, they hit the poor the hardest. “Low-income people spend most, if not all, of their income on just getting by,” said Matt Gardner, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Even though wealthier people […]
Politico: Wyden takes aim
April 28, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“WHERE OREGON AND WASHINGTON (STATE) DIVERGE: The Seattle Times has a nice primer on how differently the states of Portlandia and grunge rely on taxes. Washington, for instance, collects about four out of every five dollars from a sales tax, the fifth highest in the nation. Oregon, on the other hand, gets a higher percentage […]
The Herald: State relies on an unfair, insufficient tax system
April 8, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
“Last year, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan and nonprofit research group, said Washington state had the nation’s most unfair state and local tax system, leading its list of the “Terrible Ten Most Regressive.” The state’s poorest 20 percent pay 16.8 percent of their income as taxes, while the middle 60 percent […]
