{"id":2381319,"date":"2024-12-18T09:29:56","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T14:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inslee-proposes-billions-in-new-taxes-on-way-out-of-office-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-18T09:33:16","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T14:33:16","slug":"inslee-proposes-billions-in-new-taxes-on-way-out-of-office-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inslee-proposes-billions-in-new-taxes-on-way-out-of-office-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Inslee proposes billions in new taxes on way out of office &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Finslee-proposes-billions-in-new-taxes-on-way-out-of-office-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2381319&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State is \u200bproposing a significantly increased \u200doperating budget of \u200d$78.8\u2062 billion, which includes $4 billion in new taxes, such as\u2064 a wealth tax, just weeks before leaving office. This \u2063proposal marks a stark contrast to the budget cuts made \u200bduring the Great Recession when the Legislature reduced spending by\u200b $11 billion in response to a \u200blarge \u2064deficit. Inslee highlighted that the\u200c impact\u2062 of prior \u200bcuts, especially in mental health services, has led to persistent issues the \u2063state has been attempting\u200b to \u2063address for over\u2063 a decade. Despite record revenue generation,the state still faces a significant budget shortfall\u2064 projected to be between $10\u200c billion\u2064 and $16 billion over the next four\u2064 years. Inslee argued that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jeffries-greed-is-driving-a-lot-of-what-is-occurring-and-helps-explain-current-economic-situation\/\" title=\"Jeffries: &#039;Greed Is Driving a Lot of What Is Occurring&#039; and Helps Explain Current Economic Situation\">current economic situation<\/a> is much more favorable\u200b compared to the last budget crisis, \u200cyet he acknowledged that the state\u2019s tax system still needs\u2064 adjustments to\u2062 enhance its fairness and revenue-generating\u2062 capacity.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Inslee proposes billions in new taxes on way out of office<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1914869\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square)&nbsp;&ndash; When Gov. Jay Inslee took office in 2013 after&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aol.com\/biden-bush-8-other-candidates-160002977.html\">stating<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;in the 2012 election race that new taxes weren&rsquo;t &ldquo;the right direction,&rdquo; the state Legislature approved a $38.4 billion budget for the biennium. With less than a month before stepping down from office, Inslee is proposing a $78.8 billion operating budget that comes with $4 billion in new taxes to fund it, including a wealth tax.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The approach is in contrast with how the Legislature responded to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/most-americans-do-not-understand-the-horror-of-the-coming-inflation-wave\/\" title=\"Most Americans Do Not Understand the Horror of the Coming Inflation Wave\">massive budget deficit<\/a> during the Great Recession, when lawmakers reduced spending by $11 billion in response to a significant loss of revenue.<\/p>\n<p>At Tuesday morning&rsquo;s budget&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/tvw.org\/video\/governor-jay-inslee-budget-rollout-2024121162\/?eventID=2024121162\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>news conference<\/strong><\/a>, Inslee said that &ldquo;they did things that leaders sometimes would do in difficult times, particularly during the recession,&rdquo; and though his budget involves $2 billion in delayed spending, he said the Great Recession-era cuts to services such as mental health has created &ldquo;a problem we&rsquo;ve been trying to dig ourselves out of for 12 years now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite record&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_1684ba84-ab7a-11ef-8a1a-cf387e166d73.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revenue<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;coming in, the state operating budget faces a shortfall in the billions over a four-year period, though the exact figure has repeatedly changed from $10-12 billion to $14 billion, Inslee said it could be &ldquo;as much as $16 billion&rdquo; over the next four years.<\/p>\n<p>With revenue at record highs, Inslee remarked that &ldquo;fortunately, our circumstances are different than they were the last time we faced a budget shortfall. We&rsquo;ve got a booming economy rather than a recession.&rdquo; However, he said the state tax system &ldquo;is still a bit below average on the revenue that it generates, and it needs to continue to become fair,&rdquo; describing it as &ldquo;one of the most regressive tax codes in the nation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Per capita, Washington taxes its residents more than all but 12 other states,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/taxfoundation.org\/data\/all\/state\/2024-state-tax-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>according<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;to 2022 information from the Tax Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Under his &ldquo;fairly modest proposal&rdquo; for a wealth tax, it would generate an estimated $10.3 billion over four years by taxing 1% of the wealth of residents who exceed $100 million, which the governor said would apply to approximately 3,000 state residents.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am fairly confident that their wealth will continue to grow after this tax,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Inslee is also proposing as part of his budget a change to the state business and occupation tax, in which businesses making over $1 million annually in &ldquo;service and other activities&rdquo; category would have their rate increased by 20% through 2026.<\/p>\n<p>When asked by the media how this might <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">impact low-profit margin businesses subject<\/a> to the B&amp;O tax, Inslee said it would have less of an impact than President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s proposed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Taxes are not considered happy news for anybody, anytime, anywhere,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can tell you, as the discussion goes on, the legislation, in the Legislature, people will announce a very strong principle, which is, &lsquo;don&rsquo;t tax you, don&rsquo;t tax me, don&rsquo;t tax the feller behind the tree.&rsquo; So yes, there&rsquo;s some impact somewhere on some businesses, but as I said, I think it&rsquo;s quite modest and is consistent with the booming economy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Senate Ways &amp; Means Committee Chair June Robinson, D-Seattle, described Inslee&rsquo;s budget proposal in a statement as &ldquo;thoughtful and future-focused&rdquo; and a &ldquo;strong starting point for our work in the Senate. His plan recognizes the growing costs of inflation, increasing caseloads for safety net programs, and the need to maintain critical investments in areas like housing, education, behavioral health, and public safety.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Ways &amp; Means Ranking Minority Member Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, wrote in a statement that &ldquo;Governor Inslee proposed a double-digit spending increase in the very first budget he submitted to the Legislature &ndash; breaking his no-tax pledge in the process &ndash; and he&rsquo;s going out the same way. Tax-and-spend to the end.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He added that &ldquo;there is a deficit ahead, but it&rsquo;s caused by&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_533f47cc-b0da-11ef-9571-371aab16ecd2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">overspending<\/a><\/strong>, not by a recession or a drop in revenue. The governor could have come up with a budget that lives within the additional $5 billion in revenue that is anticipated. Instead, he wants to spend even more and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-scores-major-legal-victory-against-disney-gov-could-blow-up-backroom-deals\/\" title=\"DeSantis triumphs over Disney, potential end to secretive agreements.\">impose additional taxes<\/a> on Washington employers to help make up the difference. When the cost of doing business goes up, consumers feel it too. His budget would make living in Washington even less affordable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1914869\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1914869\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inslee suggests new taxes totaling billions before leaving office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2381320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24030755004975-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[22013,5894,10964,32076],"class_list":["post-2381319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-inslee","tag-politics","tag-taxes","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24030755004975-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2381319"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2381323,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381319\/revisions\/2381323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2381320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2381319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2381319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2381319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}