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Washington Democrats see a $16 billion budget hole and think: Why fix spending when we can just shake down taxpayers again?
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Washington Democrats’ Favorite Hobby: Raising Your Taxes
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House Democrats are back at it, rolling out a fresh batch of tax hikes that would squeeze businesses, homeowners, and anyone with financial assets over $50 million. Because when faced with a $16 billion budget shortfall, their solution isn’t cutting waste—it’s demanding even more from taxpayers.
B&O Tax Hike
House Bill 2045 slaps a 1% surcharge on businesses making over $250 million, conveniently exempting manufacturers but hitting retailers and service providers hard. Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon justifies it by saying these businesses “benefit” from state services, as if that somehow justifies treating them like a bottomless ATM. When asked if higher taxes might push businesses out of Washington, he gave a halfhearted “we should be cognizant” response—because clearly, Washington’s business exodus hasn’t been noticeable enough.
Wealth Tax—Despite Ferguson’s Warning
House Bill 2046 targets financial assets over $50 million, proving once again that Democrats love taxing wealth they didn’t earn. Even Gov. Bob Ferguson—hardly a fiscal conservative—said he won’t sign a budget that includes a wealth tax, yet here they are, banking on it anyway. Anti-tax activist Tim Eyman summed it up perfectly: “Jeff Bezos gone. Ken Fisher gone.” But hey, why worry about driving out high earners when you can always raise taxes on everyone else?
Property Tax Grab
House Bill 2049 would allow property taxes to grow at inflation plus population increases, capped at 3% per year. Homeowners—already crushed by skyrocketing housing costs—came out in force against it. One citizen put it bluntly: “We’re just walking ATMs to you people.” Hard to argue with that.
The bottom line? Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem—it has a spending problem. But instead of fixing it, Democrats would rather wring more money out of businesses, homeowners, and investors. Because in Olympia, the answer is always the same: tax more, spend more, repeat.
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Lawsuit Theater: AG Sues Software Company for High Rent, Ignores Real Problem
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Washington Attorney General Nick Brown is suing RealPage, a software company, along with nine landlords, accusing them of conspiring to inflate rental prices across the state. The lawsuit alleges that RealPage used private market data to push landlords into keeping rents high—even when units sat empty—hurting an estimated 800,000 renters. Brown calls it price-fixing. RealPage calls it “pro-competitive technology.”
But let’s be real: landlords didn’t need fancy software to figure out they could charge more in a housing market where demand far outstrips supply. The real culprit behind Washington’s skyrocketing rents isn’t some algorithm—it’s the state’s endless zoning restrictions, permitting nightmares, and anti-development policies that have made building new housing an expensive, bureaucratic mess.
Brown’s lawsuit might grab headlines, but it won’t fix Washington’s affordability crisis. If the state really wanted to lower rents, it would stop standing in the way of new housing. But that would take real leadership—something we all know is in even shorter supply than apartments. Read more at KIRO 7.
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Another Gas Tax Hike? Lawmakers Think You’ll Barely Notice
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Washington House Democrats just passed their $15.2 billion transportation budget, setting up negotiations with the Senate over—what else?—how much more to charge drivers at the pump. The House plan hikes the gas tax by 9 cents, indexed to inflation, while the Senate takes a slightly different route: a 6-cent increase that automatically rises by 2% every year. Because nothing says “affordable living” like making it more expensive to drive to work.
The budget throws money at a mix of ongoing projects, including road safety improvements, salmon-friendly culvert repairs, and the ever-elusive North Spokane Corridor project. House Transportation Chair Jake Fey insists this is about “protecting investments” Washingtonians already made—translation: you paid for it once, now pay for it again.
The final version will be hammered out in negotiations before the legislative session ends on April 27. But one thing’s for sure—when lawmakers need more money, they’ll always find a way to take it from drivers. Read more at Center Square.
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Washington Should Take Notes: Idaho’s Fix for Permit Delays
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While Washington drowns in red tape and regulatory delays, Idaho is actually doing something about it. As the Washington Policy Center points out, Idaho’s Senate Bill 1164 would streamline the building permit process, cutting down the bureaucratic mess that adds months of delays and tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs to housing projects.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the average permit delay is a staggering 6.5 months, and thanks to regulation overload, the cost of red tape alone on a new median-priced home is $203,976. Yet, instead of fixing these roadblocks, Washington lawmakers seem more interested in slapping more taxes on homeowners and businesses.
Idaho’s approach? Set clear timelines—10 business days for residential permits, 20 for commercial—and require local governments to actually provide transparent guidelines. If an application is incomplete, officials must notify applicants quickly instead of dragging the process out indefinitely.
This kind of efficiency isn’t rocket science—it’s just common sense. If Washington is serious about tackling its housing crisis, cutting red tape should be priority #1. But given Olympia’s track record, expect more hand-wringing about affordability while they keep throwing roadblocks in the way of actually building more homes. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.
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