3 solutions can raise revenue and put the state's budget on road to recovery

It's clear that our state budget can't take any more cuts. With more than $10 billion cut in the last three years, it's time to look for new revenue.

We need a comprehensive response to our revenue crisis, one that includes new sources of revenue to avoid catastrophic cuts in the short term, but also provide more economic stability in the long term. We must make shared, public investments that serve Washington families and make the economy work for all of us.

To address our immediate needs and to begin ensuring long-term sustainability, legislators should:

• Temporarily increase the sales tax by one penny.

• Tax capital gains.

• End ineffective tax breaks.

Choosing to raise revenue now will bring some balance to our state budget and will begin the long process of rebuilding the infrastructure - education, health care, safety - that supports a stronger economy. Together, these revenue solutions will start us on the road to prosperity.

A temporary one-penny increase in the sales tax would help meet our immediate needs. It would mean more Washington families have the peace of mind of knowing they have adequate health care, so that they can focus on getting the education and skills needed for a better job. Most people are willing to pay a little more for a much better future.

Taxing capital gains would create a robust and sustainable new source of revenue without impacting the vast majority of Washington families. Capital gains are the profits from selling stocks, bonds and vacation houses.

A modest tax on high-end capital gains would put money back into our economy, generating up to $1 billion each year for education, health care and the resources we need to create jobs. A 5 percent rate applied to capital gains is considerably lower than the top rates applied in most other states. Notably, 5 percent is much lower than the 11 percent rate applied in Oregon and the 7.8 percent rate in Idaho.

Finally, the Legislature should end unjustified tax breaks. Since 2007, the legislative audit committee has found 33 tax breaks, such as the tax break for out-of-state banks, that either serve no purpose or fail to achieve their stated purpose. When our state is struggling to achieve the paramount purpose of providing a basic education, we can't justify tax breaks that serve no purpose at all.

An Oct. 30 News Tribune's editorial detailed the real costs of an all-cuts budget. While the governor slashes numbers on paper, in the real world children are still abused, the elderly still need health care, felons still need addiction treatment, and families still want a safe and prosperous future.

We can't ignore the effects of these budget cuts - our future and our quality of life are at stake.

There is a simple rule that applies to anything with moving parts, including cars, houses, health and government: You can pay a little bit now in maintenance costs, or you can pay a whole lot more when neglected problems turn into catastrophes.

It's time to apply this rule of preventive maintenance to the way we write our state budget. It's time to bring balance back to the state budget with real revenue solutions. Now more than ever, we need to invest in the public services that create jobs and support a strong economy for all Washington families.

Remy Trupin is the executive director of the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, a Seattle-based progressive think tank.