You’ve heard it before from us.

Washington state’s tax code is the absolute worst in the country, taxing people in the lowest income brackets up to six times more as a share of their income than those in the highest income brackets. Over the course of many decades, Washington’s lawmakers have created a tax system that favors people with more income and wealth at the (literal) expense of low- and middle-income people. Additionally, low-income Washingtonians are disproportionately people of color, so our tax code perpetuates racial inequity and creates additional barriers for low-income people of color to achieve economic stability. Our inequitable state tax code also harms women, with woman-headed households being the most likely to be low-income and highest-taxed.

 As the graph below shows, our state tax code is totally upside down.

(Data source: Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy)

This session we’re continuing our fight for the funding and modernizing of a Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC). Think of the WFTC as the state version of the Earned Income Tax Credit, a program for low- and moderate-income households, and the federal government’s most successful poverty reduction program. The WFTC would offer an average income boost of $350 a year to eligible households in the form of a tax refund—both increasing financial security for about one million Washingtonians, and paving a way forward for tax equity in our state.

Even though the WFTC was passed into law over a decade ago, it was never funded—so it’s never actually been a true reality. We’re calling on lawmakers to not just fund the WFTC, but modernize it, by expanding the eligibility to workers age 19 and up without children, using a modern definition of work to include low-income college students and those who care for family members, and recognizing ITIN filers as eligible as well.

The expansion for ITIN filers actually has its own separate bill (HB 2521/SB 6557) this session—and that bill has its first public hearing tomorrow (2/4) in the Senate Human Services Committee!  Those who file their taxes with an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) are often immigrants, some visa holders, and survivors of domestic violence. All ITIN filers pay taxes on the wages they earn. ITIN filers who are income-eligible to receive the WFTC should also be allowed to receive this important anti-poverty benefit.

We’re calling on community advocates to urge their lawmakers to pass the ITIN expansion bill and fund/modernize the Working Families Tax Credit this year. Send an email today so lawmakers receive it in time for the hearing tomorrow!