Republican legislators push for $1 billion tax cut for state’s residents

Pointing to higher than anticipated revenue flowing into the state’s coffers, Washington House Republicans are pushing for a nearly $1 billion tax cut for the state’s residents over four years.

However, Gov. Jay Inslee and Democratic legislative leaders said those funds are needed to pay for services, from transportation to reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness.

HB 2946, sponsored by state Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, would:

• Cap car tabs at $30, the amount that voters approved last November with Initiative 976, which is on hold pending a court challenge. The bill also calls for tapping motor vehicle sales tax revenue to prevent cuts in funding transportation or transit projects.
• Eliminate the sales tax on prepared food items sold at grocery stores, and the sales tax on personal necessities like feminine hygiene products, breast pumps, and diapers.

On Wednesday, a state panel said revenue for the current two-year budget is expected to be $606 million higher than expected and that total is $1.1 billion over four years.

Inslee has proposed spending more than $300 million to add 2,100 shelter beds and take other steps to reduce homelessness. House and Senate Democrats plan to release their changes to the current two-year operating budget next week.

“With (Wednesday’s) revenue forecast, we should have enough funds to address this now and plan for the future. I want to be very direct. We need to use these funds for homelessness, to bring people without shelter inside this year,” Inslee said at a press conference on Thursday.

Inslee also stressed that the state needs to continue bolstering several programs, including K-12 education, early childhood education, and behavioral health.

“I’m convinced that these service demands both are needed and demanded by the public and you can’t do it with money from the tooth fairy,” he said, adding that the state also needs to have enough money in its “rainy-day fund” to maintain services when the next recession hits.

House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said the Legislature is responding to businesses that want the state to spend more on child care. The Legislature also needs to improve the foster-care system, said state Sen. Makra Dhingra, D-Redmond.

Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, a Spokane Democrat, said a smarter approach than a tax cut is for the Legislature to “invest in our communities in a way that will pay back in helping people’s lives and saving us money in the long term.”

Stokesbary said because the state’s revenue continues to grow, the Legislature can fund Inslee’s homelessness proposal, give a $944 million tax cut to “working families,” and still have a $1 billion budget surplus. He said a tax cut would not impact state services.

State Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, added: “The Democrats talk a lot about corporate greed. Let’s talk about government greed. We have so many additional dollars. Why aren’t we giving it back to the people who sent it to the state in the first place?”

This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 5:45 AM.