In response to the Jan. 19 letter written by Michael Maddux (“Unfunded initiatives: Public must pay for what it wants”), I would like to make the following points:
Washington has one of the most income-disparate tax systems in the nation. The highest income bracket pays the least amount of tax (about 3 percent of their income), while the poorest are paying the most (about 17 percent).
Why? Because we insist on taxing property (real and personal) and rely heavily on a sales tax. It is not, then, a matter of most of us not wanting to foot the bill just because we are cheapskates; our system is patently unfair.
Why have the voters backed initiatives and not passed new taxes? The message is obvious: We have priorities that we want funded. We want the state to quit wasting money and live in its budget instead of viewing us as a cash cow that they can milk any time they want to.
To fix this issue, we should consider:
1. Outlawing property taxes of any sort. It is regressive to keep paying tax just for the privilege of owning something. The Boston Tea Party revolt was partly due to being taxed on taxes.
2. We should consider an income tax only if property taxes are outlawed. This would equalize the tax burden and more fairly tax you based on your current situation, instead of penalizing you for owning something.
It is a disgrace to our state that the initiative process is fast becoming the only tool that the Legislature and governor listen to (because they have to). The ballot box was supposed to be our voice, but I haven’t seen the ballot box listened to since the voters got overridden into building a stadium. Get my point, Mr. Locke?
Snohomish
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