Seattlest: Governor With Obama Right This Minute

grid

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:11:25 -0800

[bilco] fat chance of ever seeing tax reform in this state, unfortunately. i get what you're saying about sales tax being regressive, but personally i don't mind a high sales tax. the places i've lived with no sales tax seem to just have people buying more and larger television sets, electronics and other consumer goods. increased food costs are the most regressive aspect of a the state sales tax, but if you prepare your own food, the ingredients are exempt. raw eggs, fish, meat, poultry are all exempt, as are many baked goods [bread]. i'd rather see expanded exemptions for prepared foods than for an elimination of the sales tax all together. another idea is to create exemptions for products under a certain price, but that's probably unworkable. i guess what i'm saying is that it is about as easy to have "progressive sales tax" as it is to have a "progressive income tax". indeed, it isn't very difficult to make any kind of tax "progressive" if you structure it properly. the issue is more that of a narrow tax base versus a broad tax base. in my opinion, the broader the better, with the full understanding that each new tax you add does complicate the system and put a burden on the taxpayer to figure out what they owe and how to budget effectively... but i do think that this problem can be overcome, primarily by keeping the tax code as simple as possible and through the *effective* use of information technologies.

bilco

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:24:21 -0800

[grid] Bingo. We need a progressive state income tax to replace a regressive sales tax. And don't get me started on the property tax - with housing prices in flux, the assessments seem evermore arbitrary.

grid

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:56:38 -0800

Though this feels very much like robbing Peter to pay Paul, i suppose state revenues are more adversely affected by the drops in real estate values than federal revenues, and since real estate values seem to be a disproportionate part of the problem, it makes some sense for the federal government to come to the rescue. though it makes me wonder if we'd be in such a mess if we had a state income tax. by lowering property taxes and compensate with a state income tax, the state would have a broader, more stable tax base that could better withstand dramatic fluctuations in property values.

Katelyn

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:50:07 -0800

I totally trust her to bring home the bacon.

bilco

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:45:32 -0800

Hmmm, I wonder where the 'Mercer Mess' falls on old Obama's list of priorities... But, I'll take whatever pork she can secure. So delicious.