Does Washington state want a sales-tax rate higher than L.A.'s?

DEMOCRATS have large majorities in both houses in Olympia. The tax-increase bills passed by the Senate and House — $890 million by the Senate and $680 million by the House — are their tax bills. Their name is on them.

Most of the Democrats' taxes are specific to certain groups — cigarette and cigar smokers, people who eat candy bars or drink bottled water, businesses that need custom software, users of investment advisory services and real estate appraisal services, etc., etc., etc. To this the Senate adds a 0.3-point increase in the general sales tax.

The House has not dared to do this. Maybe it is because all the members of the House face voters in November, and only one-third of senators do. It could also be that Senate Democrats deeply and sincerely believe that 0.3 percentage points don't amount to much.

That is a belief we do not share. Consider the sales tax. In Seattle, the total general rate is already 9.5 percent. That is higher than New York City's rate of 8.875 percent and the same as San Francisco's. If Seattle's rate goes to 9.8 percent it will be higher than Los Angeles' 9.75 percent or Chicago's 9.75 percent, effective July 1.

Raising the state portion of the sales tax to 6.8 percent would likely make Seattle's rate the highest of any major city in the United States. We think people will notice. We think this will hurt investment, commerce and job creation here.

Democrats have to ask themselves if their constituents really want this. They wanted a Democrat, to be sure. But when they voted Democrat, some of them were voting for cultural issues like gay rights or abortion rights or legalized marijuana. Many were simply sick of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. Not many were thinking, "Let's top Los Angeles in the rate of sales tax."

If they do it, their name is on it.