I’m part of the top 3-percent earners - so tax me higher, says Pierce County resident

Legislators: Tax me!

You heard me right. I’m asking lawmakers to raise taxes on the wealthiest Washingtonians and most profitable corporations.

Thousands of Washington families are struggling to survive in the pandemic. Since last year, we’ve lost 127,200 jobs in the private sector and 43,100 in the public sector. Over 1 million people in our state have filed for unemployment benefits, some of which may run out at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, the fortunes of the wealthiest Washingtonians – those of us with investments in the stock market – have continued to rise, even in the pandemic. The market is on track to gain 13% this year.

Our homegrown billionaires, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, have seen their wealth grow by $20 billion and $90 billion respectively, from March to October 2020.

Washington’s upside-down tax system means those at the bottom, who earn $44,000 or less, pay 17% of their income in taxes, while those at the top, who earn over $500,000 a year or more, pay less than 3% of their income in state and local taxes.

I’m not an economist, but I am a member of the top 3% and I recognize there’s an enormous problem with this system. It’s not equitable and it’s costing all of us.

During the pandemic, white collar workers — who suffered the fewest job losses and made them up most quickly – and their employers shifted to a work-from-home model.

Across the country, people discovered they no longer needed to live in a place they didn’t love and so left crowded and expensive cities for locales with cleaner air, better views, more recreation opportunities. Washington is one of those destinations.

My husband’s high-income colleagues from the Bay Area are moving here because of the quality of life. Though not intentionally, they are driving up the cost of housing and services and making the gap between the haves and the have-nots even bigger.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we don’t live in a vacuum. Our actions ripple across communities. Our outdated tax system is no exception. It’s time to address this problem and make sure everyone pays their share.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposal for a capital gains tax is a great start. It means the wealthiest who are getting even richer from the stock market will pay a little more to protect public health and rebuild the economy.

Even though my family is in the top 3% of income earners, Inslee’s proposed capital gains tax on the very rich won’t apply to my husband - who works for a big tech company - and me.

Earlier this year, we considered a move to Oregon to be closer to family and realized we would pay at least $30,000 more in taxes. We didn’t move and a higher tax bill didn’t factor into the decision, but it highlighted just how big of a break we’re getting in Washington.

As parents to a child with developmental disabilities, we rely on state services for our son’s wheelchair, food, and personal care. For many families, caring for a person with disabilities means a life of poverty, as expenses for caregiving and equipment can be monumental. So are divorce rates. We are fortunate to be an exception.

We also believe that everyone — whether they have a disability or support someone who does, whether Black, brown, white — should have the resources they need. We all deserve and benefit from strong, healthy, thriving communities.

There is ample wealth in our state, enough to make sure every community has what it needs: affordable childcare, housing, health care, supports for the elderly and people with disabilities, and more.

The way to harness those resources is to ask everyone to do their part.

I hope legislators will go even further than the governor and find progressive revenue, like addressing the wealthiest corporations and estates that don’t pay their share.

It’s time for lawmakers to ask folks like me who do well in Washington to do right by Washington.

Adrienne Stuart is an attorney who gave up her private practice to advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in Washington. She’s a resident of Browns Point.