Senate Democrats Propose Sales Tax Hike to Balance Budget
By Chelsea KoptaPASCO, WA -- If they're not taxed now, goods like groceries, clothes and cars soon could be. Under a new proposal by Senate Democrats, you'd pay more for nearly everything you buy. Lawmakers want to temporarily hike sales tax three-tenths percent, or a third of a penny on every dollar. MultimediaIt's the first of two legislative budget-balancing proposals revealed Tuesday in Olympia. "I don't agree with raising sales tax," Kennewick resident Eric Anderson said. "It keeps going up and up and up and I feel it's ridiculous we have to pay so much more for everything," Zach March said. "Everybody hates when taxes goes up but we should do something about it," Cheryl Porter said, a Kennewick resident who supports the tax hike. Exactly how much more would you pay? Right now, sales tax sits at 8.3 percent in the Tri Cities and 8.2 in Yakima. Action News crunched the numbers and found a $100 pair of shoes would cost 30 cents more, a $750 flat screen TV would cost $2.25 more, a $20,000 car would cost $60, and a home worth a quarter of a million would set you back an extra $720. "If you're talking three-tenths of a penny its not a big deal. Most people will say that's not a big deal but... if you're buying a home, that's a big chunk of change," Anderson continued. Legislators also want smokers to cough up another dollar on a pack of cigarettes. "It cigarettes go to $8 dollars I will quit smoking. I already told myself that," March said. The harsh reality is in the numbers. Lawmakers need to reign in a $2.8 billion dollar deficit and they say general sales tax could close that gap by $624 million. Overall, Senate Democrats said they would raise about $918 million in revenue to help patch the deficit. Lawmakers blame the economy. Some weren't convinced. "There are plenty of things the state can do to save money without raising taxes,” Chris Cargill told Action News a few weeks ago and still stands by today. He's the Eastern Washington Office Director for Washington Policy Center in the Tri Cities, an independent, non-partisan, research and education organization that works on public policy issues facing our region. To soften the impact of a sales-tax increase, Senate Democrats are proposing a tax rebate for low-income families. Basically, families that qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit also would eligible for a tax rebate from the state. The rebates would start at 5 percent of the federal credit and ramp up to 10 percent over time. The rebates would cost the state an estimated $5 million in fiscal year 2011. If the proposal passes, sales tax increase would stick around until 2013. The senate proposal comes just a week after Governor Gregoire's plan where she proposed a smaller tax package that would raise $605 million, without a general sales tax increase. So far, state leaders were already split over the idea of a sales tax increase. Governor Gregoire said she doesn't like the approach while House Democrats still haven't settled on a tax package. But the way things are shaking out in Olympia, it's looking more and more like taxes may be this budget's great escape. The legislative session is set to end March 11. Most Popular |
Upload directly from your mobile device. Learn howYouNews
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
|
Connect with KEPRMost Popular
|
KEPR-TV, 2807 W. Lewis Street,