By Todd Welch / Herald Columnist
As the Democrat-controlled Washington state Legislature barrels into 2025, Olympia is once again reaching deeper into the pockets of working families. Rather than address a $12 billion budget shortfall through spending restraint, lawmakers have chosen the easy — but — painful path: more taxes, fees, and costs for everyday people.
Our state budget has grown more than 50 percent faster in the past decade than the population and inflation. Now that the bills are coming due, the Legislature’s solution is to raise taxes across the board, hitting families, small businesses, and local communities — Everett included — where it hurts.
Cost of living, up, up and away: One of the new taxes imposes a 10-cent refundable fee on every beverage bottle: milk, soda, and water. For families who regularly stock their fridges, this could mean an extra $20 to $50 per year. For those living paycheck to paycheck, that’s not pocket change; that’s dinner, diapers, or gas.
Meanwhile, the price of a Discovery Pass — our ticket to state parks — is jumping by 50 percent, making affordable outdoor recreation harder to access. A new tax on concert and sporting event tickets will push even the occasional night out further out of reach, choking the businesses that depend on those crowds.
Small businesses, squeezed from all sides: New payroll taxes and a higher business and occupation (B&O) tax threaten to undermine Washington’s job creators. We’ve seen this story before in Seattle, where small businesses either shut down or moved out to Bellevue and Redmond. Now, the whole state is in the crosshairs.
House Bill 1213reneges on earlier promises by forcing businesses with fewer than 50 employees to comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act, an unfunded mandate that could shutter Main Street icons like Everett’s cafes, salons and corner shops.
Senate Bill 5292 worsens the blow by raising the Family and Medical Leave payroll tax cap to 2 percent, despite the program needing a $200 million bailout. A 50 percent increase in liquor license fees will make it harder for restaurants and event businesses to survive, let alone grow.
Everyday life, taxed to the core: Recreation, safety and health are also on the chopping block. Hunting and fishing license fees are set to rise steeply, pushing out rural families who rely on these traditions for sport and sustenance. An 11 percent tax on firearms and ammunition targets law-abiding citizens while driving sales to Idaho.
A new tax on cellphones and smartwatches punishes low-income families who rely on these devices for work and emergencies. And perhaps most outrageously, a prescription drug tax threatens to increase health care costs, potentially forcing vulnerable residents to skip essential medication.
Fuel and food, a one-two punch: A proposed 9-cents-a-gallon gas tax hike will hit hard in places like Everett, where many residents rely on their vehicles to commute and access basic services. With few reliable transit alternatives, that added cost at the pump will leave less for groceries, rent and bills. Additionally, since transportation costs affect the price of goods, the tax increase could lead to higher prices for groceries and everyday items, compounding the financial strain on working families. Then there’s House Bill 1462, banning hydrofluorocarbons used in refrigeration. While touted as an environmental win, it may increase spoilage during transit, making fresh produce even more expensive, a luxury some working-class families can no longer afford.
The big picture, a sneaky income yax? And it doesn’t stop there. Lawmakers want to triple the property tax cap for state schools, cities and counties, from 1 percent to 3 percent annually. This could tip many families into financial distress in an already overheated housing market. Meanwhile, creeping payroll tax increases mimic an income tax in everything but name.
Washington’s no-income-tax policy has long been a magnet for business investment. If Olympia keeps chipping away at that advantage, companies will look elsewhere, likely to go to places such as Texas and Nevada, leaving our workers and communities behind.
Act now to protect our future: Olympia’s tax spree threatens working-class families and small businesses. It’s time to demand better. Contact your legislators; call, email, or show up at town halls. Tell them to cut spending, not pile costs onto struggling Washingtonians. Everett deserves affordability and opportunity, not a heavier yoke. Speak up before these taxes reshape our state for the worse.
Todd Welch is a columnist for The Herald, addressing local and state issues. He lives in Everett.
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