If Washington lawmakers were serious about imposing a state income tax, and really reducing the sales tax, they would not offer the idea in the final days of the legislative session.
Both the House and Senate budgets are already drafted. The income tax is enormously unpopular in Washington for a very simple reason: Few among us trust lawmakers to reduce taxes overall. The idea lands as lawmakers are trying to patch a $2.8 billion hole in the budget.
Even an approach like raising the income tax on the wealthy while reducing the sales tax for everyone else is just a gimmick.
Voters statewide are wary of an income tax because they know after the sales tax drops, the next year the next round of groups seeking money will aks voters to boost the sales tax to fund a variety of must-have goodies.
Voila! The income tax is plus ---plus current taxes. How is the Legislature going to sell that in a recession? Why would anyone believe the sales tax would really go down and stay down?
Again, if lamwakers wanted to have a serious conversation about this topic, and many are itching and scratching to do just that, it's poor timing to offer an income tax in the last week of the session.
Supporters point to Oregon which in January approved a higher income tax on the wealthiest Oregonians. Yes, but Oregon is already an income tax state. Washington is not.