Taxapalooza!

It's a Spending Problem

I recently saw a graphic on social media from the Senate Republicans talking about the WA Democrats’ “Taxapalooza.” In the graphic, Republicans highlighted a long list of ways Washington’s Democratic legislators are pushing to raise taxes. These proposals showcase a remarkable level of creativity in their efforts to generate more government revenue.

And if the Majority party passed ALL of these different bills, it would be a massive tax increase! However, they’re not going to pass them all!

Why? Because you, the everyday ordinary Washingtonian, are going to participate in the process, and loudly tell them, “No new taxes!” and “Cut spending!”

Here’s how to raise your concerns.

Understanding the Game Rules

On March 12, we will reach “cutoff.” In theory, any bill that has not been passed in its house of origin by the end of the day on Wednesday is “dead.” However, with the Democratic majority, no bill is ever absolutely dead. If they really want to implement a policy, they can suspend the rules and bring a “dead” bill back to life. So, it’s better to think in terms of potential: big league, minor league and rookie ball.

If a bill has passed it’s house of origin, it’s in the big leagues. It’s moving on to the opposite house, and you can tell from the final floor vote how controversial a bill is. For some of these very controversial bills, it will be possible to stop them in the opposite house, when people show up in public hearings, comment on the bills, write letters, and make phone calls.

If a bill is in either the rules committee or on the floor calendar in its house of origin, it’s in the minor leagues. These bills are like minor league players waiting to get the call to the big leagues (a floor vote). If they don’t get voted off the floor, these bills will be in limbo. Some people call them “mostly dead.”

However, in a budget year, if a bill is deemed “necessary to implement the budget” it’s pretty common to suspend the rules and bring “mostly dead” bills to the floor for a vote, regardless of it’s normal status.

Thinking in terms of potential

It would take a lot of energy to raise a stink about ALL the possible taxation bills, so I tend to focus my energy on the ones most likely to succeed—the “big league” bills that have already passed their houses of origin. After that, I’ll look at the ones stuck in the minors, and finally, I’ll consider the mostly dead, “rookie ball” bills.

For all of these bills, you can take the same action. Look up the bill by it’s number on leg.wa.gov, and then “Send a Comment on these bills.” If you’re really inspired, you can email certain legislators, like Democrat caucus leaders, directly. Email or message me if you need help with that.

Big League Bills

SB 5314 Capital gains tax – This bill passed the Senate by a party line vote of 30-19. Comment on the bill and oppose.

The bill makes changes to how businesses and individuals report and pay capital gains tax, introduces new definitions and exemptions, and adjusts reporting and filing requirements. The bill also introduces provisions for adjusting applicable tax amounts annually based on the consumer price index, creates penalties for late or incorrect filings, and extends the statute of limitations for tax assessments in certain circumstances.

SB 5686 Foreclosure mediation program – This bill passed the Senate: 30-19. Comment on the bill and oppose.

This Democratic bill expands the Foreclosure Mediation Program. It establishes a NEW $80 fee (tax) collected on certain residential mortgage loan originations and revises the distributions to fund the program. Estimated operating costs are $42.7 million through 2031.

HB 1647 Surface mine reclamation – This bill passed the House by a party line vote of 55-42. Comment on the bill and oppose.

This bill is going to hit the small rural gravel pit operator very hard. The bill establishes a standardized $4,500 nonrefundable application fee for various permit-related actions, including revisions to existing reclamation permits, expansions of surface mines, etc. The annual permit fees are also modified, with most permit holders now required to pay $3,500 annually, while public permit holders for mines used exclusively for public works projects will pay a reduced fee of $2,500.

Minor League Bills

These bills were on the floor calendar of either the House or the Senate on Sunday March 9. They may have already jumped to the big leagues by the time you read this, so be sure to comment on them, as well.

HB 1409 Clean fuels program – This hidden tax makes the CCA even worse and increases taxes via the Carbon Market.

SB 5502 Recycling & waste reduction – This Democratic “bottle & can tax” bill assesses a 10-cent refundable fee on ALL covered beverage containers. This is a regressive tax. It raises money, but does nothing to improve recycling.

SB 5576 Affordable housing funding – This bill establishes a new 6% special excise tax on short-term rental lodging facilitated through rental platforms.

SB 5775 Public safety/local tax – This is a bill to support homelessness masquerading as a tax bill. It allows a county legislative authority to impose a sales tax without a vote of the people by January 1, 2028. Revenue would go to local “public safety” projects.

Rookie Ball: Most Likely to Succeed

These bills don’t seem likely to make the cutoff, but that won’t stop the Democrats from treating your wallet like their personal piggy bank. This is my best guess as to the rookie ball bills most likely to make it to a floor vote this session. Leave a comment on these bills!

SB 5726 & HB 1921 (companion bills) Transportation revenue – These two are the infamous “pay-per-mile” bills. Leave a comment on both. They create a mandatory road usage charge program that places a per-mile fee on motor vehicle usage of public roadways in the state.

HB 1334 Property tax revenue growth – Every government entity funded by property tax revenue is in a financial crunch. Inflation and wages are up well over 3%, while property tax revenues only increase by 1%. Do the math. These public entities are about to have budgets in the RED! This bill is a sneaky attempt to let municipalities jack up property taxes by tweaking the inflation math and adding up to 3% for population growth. By swapping to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)—which conveniently results in higher inflation rates—the bill could push property tax hikes to a whopping 5-6% annually.

HB 1958 and SB 5734: Interstate bridge toll bonds – This legislation allows for the issuance of up to $1.6 billion of bonds for the design, right-of-way, and construction of the Interstate 5 Bridge Replacement Project. These bonds would be backed by ALL Washington taxpayers, NOT just the bridge users. And NOT Oregon taxpayers. Is that fair?

It’s not a Revenue problem, it’s a Spending problem

A quote widely attributed to Ronald Reagan says "The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.”

Now, it is our generation’s turn to tell our government to lower taxes and reduce spending. We can do this by simply opposing all of the bills on this list loudly and frequently! Take ten minutes to visit leg.wa.gov and “leave a comment” on these bills!

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Nancy Churchill is a writer and educator in rural eastern Washington State, and the chair of the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on thinkspot, Rumble and Substack.

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