If you watch Jeopardy backwards, it's about rich people paying money for answers to questions. Ba-dum-dum-shhhhhh…! 😂
But speaking of rich people, what do you think will happen if they have to pay money simply for the sake of paying money? And how might that affect us normal people? Well, there’s an interesting situation brewing in Olympia, so let’s check it out!
Here are Five Fast Facts on Washington State’s proposed wealth tax:
- 🤔 Where We Are - Gov. Inslee is wrapping up his time in office, but is leaving his final budget proposal on the way out. To address the gaping budget hole – $10-12 billion worth – he’s proposed a tax on the super rich and businesses. How to say “fair share” without saying fair share…
- 💸 Makin’ It Rain - Inslee’s budget proposal would add a 1% tax on the value of everything over $100 million for rich folks, as well as a 10% increase in taxes on businesses that make over $1 million. This will raise an estimated $16 billion over the next four years. Theoretically.
- 🪓 On The Block - You might think that adding new taxes to fill a budget hole would mean no increase in spending. You’d be wrong. The budget also proposes a spending increase of almost $10 billion while cutting a bunch of social programs like teacher bonuses and low-income childcare subsidies. If you’re scratching your head about the wisdom of that, well, so are we.
- 😣 Flies In The Ointment - Rich people are hopping mad about this, of course, even many who have previously supported Inslee. The ink wasn’t even dry on the proposal yet when they started talking about moving out of the state. Another problem is Washington State’s own recent report suggests it’s impossible to predict how much money will be raised from a wealth tax, and that it probably won’t work due to legal challenges and the rich moving away and taking their companies and tax revenue with them. Uh, ya’ think??
- 👀 Let The Haggling Begin - To be clear, this isn’t a done deal…it’s actually just the first step! New lawmakers – and a new Governor – take office on January 13th, and that’s when the haggling begins. We’ll keep our eyes on it for you and bring you all the juicy details!
🔥Bottom line: It’s way too soon to panic about this, in either direction. But, given that SOMEthing must be done about the huge budget hole, it deserves some serious public debate. If Washington State does pass a wealth tax, it’ll be the first state to do so, and that’ll be on top of already being the 5th least tax-friendly state in the nation. You can practically hear the millionaires firing up their Bentleys and private jets to get the heck out…
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