Washington Democrats are still trying to figure out how their brand-new income tax is supposed to work—and they’re already discovering that collecting it is a lot more complicated than passing it.

The state’s new 9.9% tax currently applies to households earning $1 million or more, but lawmakers have already floated lowering that threshold to $750,000, $500,000 or even $250,000. So taxpayers have plenty of reason to wonder where the line will eventually be drawn.

Now the state’s income-tax advisory group has uncovered another problem: there’s no “safe harbor” for people who unexpectedly become subject to the tax.

In other words, someone could earn under the $1 million threshold one year, cross it the next, pay the full tax they owe—and still face a penalty because they didn’t make enough estimated payments during the year.

Rep. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, essentially acknowledged that lawmakers didn’t think through that scenario when they wrote the law. As she put it, “we solved the problem for just the taxing and effect initially, but we didn’t think about it” for someone who becomes subject to the tax later.

That’s quite the admission for a tax that is supposed to bring in billions of dollars.

And the problems don’t stop there. The state is also trying to determine how to track and collect the tax from nonresidents whose income is connected to Washington through complicated partnership structures. The Department of Revenue had already warned lawmakers during the legislative session that determining who actually owes the tax would be difficult.

So Washington Democrats created a complicated new tax, the Department of Revenue warned them about implementation problems, and now an advisory group is working through basic questions about how taxpayers are supposed to comply.

And remember: this is the current $1 million threshold. Some Democrats have already discussed lowering it dramatically.

Maybe before Washington creates an even bigger tax base, lawmakers should figure out how to make the tax they already passed actually work.

Voters will get their say on Initiative 645 this November, which would repeal the new income tax. It would also add another chapter to Washington voters’ long history of rejecting a state income tax at the ballot box. Read more at The Center Square.

Washington local governments have discovered a remarkably simple solution to their transportation and budget problems: ask taxpayers for more money.

According to the Washington Policy Center, cities and counties already have broad authority to raise transportation taxes and fees through Transportation Benefit Districts, yet local governments continue heading to Olympia looking for even more state funding. Meanwhile, proposals in Bellevue and Seattle raise questions about whether new transportation taxes will actually improve transportation.

Bellevue is considering a 0.1% sales-tax increase plus $20–$40 in vehicle fees, potentially pushing its sales-tax rate to 10.5%. But according to the Washington Policy Center, less than 20% of the proposed funding would go toward vehicle mobility and no more than 8% toward street preservation. Much of the money would go toward vague categories such as “neighborhood mobility,” bike and pedestrian projects and “major projects.”

Seattle wants to go even further, proposing a 0.3% sales-tax increase expected to generate $138 million annually. Much of that money would subsidize Metro bus service, continue operating the Seattle Streetcar and provide free ORCA passes to low-income residents.

Meanwhile, 35% of Seattle’s streets are reportedly in poor or very poor condition.

And then there’s King County.

On Tuesday, the County Council approved another 0.01% sales-tax increase without asking voters, with the money going into the Department of Community and Human Services for shelter and rental assistance. There isn’t even a detailed spending plan yet—the council will decide how to distribute the money later.

That’s especially interesting because DCHS is already under scrutiny for how it has handled existing taxpayer dollars.

An independent review found $690,617 in questioned costs across 16 community organizations connected to DCHS programs, including unsupported cash withdrawals, questionable stipends and potentially altered documents. The county’s Ombuds office concluded that waste, fraud or abuse likely occurred in some cases.

And on the same day the council approved the new tax, it appointed an Inspector General to investigate fraud and recover misspent funds.

So the pattern is becoming pretty familiar: Washington governments want more revenue first and accountability later.

Bellevue wants higher taxes despite questions about how much will actually improve roads and vehicle mobility. Seattle wants another $138 million while a third of its streets are in poor or very poor condition. King County wants another tax while one of its departments is under investigation for questionable spending.

The Washington Policy Center argues that transportation taxes should come with clearer priorities, cost-effectiveness requirements and accountability for whether the money actually improves the transportation system.

That’s not exactly a radical concept.

Before Washington asks taxpayers for another dollar, maybe government should demonstrate what happened to the dollars it already collected. Read more at the Washington Policy Center and Seattle Red.

Washington State Ferries was thrown into chaos Monday after nearly two dozen engineers failed to show up for work in what appeared to be a coordinated sick-out, cancelling routes and stranding thousands of passengers. Union officials deny it was related to contract negotiations, but dock workers told KIRO it was part of a push for higher wages. The engineers’ contract has expired, and they’re reportedly seeking a 20% pay increase.

Enter former Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who immediately threw her support behind the engineers and blamed Democrats and Republicans for supposedly refusing to “tax the rich.” Sawant claimed the state is offering ferry workers zero-percent raises despite inflation and argued that budget shortfalls are the result of wealthy people not paying enough.

The problem with that argument? Democrats have controlled Washington state government for decades, and the state is bringing in record revenue. State Rep. Travis Couture pushed back, arguing that ferry riders shouldn’t be held hostage while workers negotiate for a 20% raise.

As Couture put it, whatever justification the engineers have for their demands belongs at the negotiating table—not with thousands of passengers left scrambling because 23 employees didn’t show up.

Apparently, when the government runs out of money for raises after years of massive tax increases, the solution is obvious: blame billionaires, blame Republicans, and definitely don’t blame the people running the state. Read more at Seattle Red.

Republican state Sen. John Braun and Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez squared off in a debate Wednesday — and Perez offered plenty of complaints about Washington’s problems, but few reasons to believe Democrats would stop making them worse.

Gas prices are too high. Housing costs too much. Health care is too expensive. Government spends too much.

Perez agrees. Her answers? More government intervention, more regulation and more spending.

She blasted the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act over Medicaid, despite Braun pointing out that it reduces the growth of spending rather than simply cutting the program.

On immigration, Perez supports border security while also backing restrictions on ICE. On elections, she supports proof of citizenship but opposed additional ID requirements. And on Washington’s income tax, she admitted the state has a spending problem but offered no appetite for actually getting spending under control.

The debate exposed the familiar Democratic formula to get elected: acknowledge the problems, defend the policies behind them, then propose even more government as the solution.

Apparently, Washington just needs more of what got it here. Read more at The Center Square.

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