Democrats want $20 billion more

Democrat legislators claim there's a state-government budget shortfall of $12 to $15 billion, yet several of my colleagues in the state Senate just filed legislation to take much more than that through new and higher taxes -- nearly $20 billion.

Only in Olympia would anyone think that makes sense. But as Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, I can tell you how unnecessary and wrong their tax scheme is.

This would be the largest tax increase in state history. Everyone knows what the Climate Commitment Act has done to their cost of living, by driving up the cost of gas at the pump and natural-gas bills, yet that hidden gas tax amounts to just 10% of what the Democrats are wanting now.

The Senate Democrats' package includes what they call a wealth tax, which is really a new type of property tax. Senate Bill 5797 would tax people for simply owning a certain volume of stocks, bonds and other intangible assets, just as if they were pieces of land.

Although state budgets span two years, legislators typically look at taxes and spending in four-year terms. This tax alone would rake in more than $12 billion over four years.

Then there's a jobs tax, similar to one being imposed in Seattle. It would apply to nearly 5,300 Washington employers statewide, as well as local governments, school districts and higher education. If passed, SB 5796 would enrich state government by another $6.6 billion over four years.

The smallest tax is actually a set of 20 separate increases, all from ending special tax rates approved by legislators to help create jobs or make our state competitive. This would pull in another $1 billion-plus over four years.

The most harmful of the Democrats' slew of tax bills involves government's ability to increase property-tax rates annually without voter approval.

For years they've tried to triple the limit on such rate increases, for both state and local property taxes, but the policy in SB 5798 is a case of going from bad to worse. It would eliminate the 1% cap created by the passage of 2001's Initiative 747 and instead increase the tax rate automatically based on inflation plus population growth.

The result could be much more than triple the rate. Try 4.5%, on average, based on the past decade's statistics. If this approach had been law in 2023, the property-tax rate could have increased that year by nearly 7% with only a vote of the local council or commission.

Of all the tax madness in Olympia, this is the most maddening. Senate Democrats keep talking about making wealthy Washingtonians "pay what they owe." They complain that the state's tax system is "rigged" against working- and middle-class families.

But who gets hurt most when property taxes go up? Not the wealthy.

A flat property tax hits those working and middle-income families harder, and also becomes a pass-through cost to renters across our state. What would that do for the cost of living in our state? For the housing shortage?

I'll close with some facts. The state budget shortfall isn't $12 billion, or $15 billion. It's about $7 billion over the next four years, based on calculations by non-partisan legislative budget-committee staff.

That's the gap we must eliminate to keep state government running next year at the same level as today. The $ave Washington budget made public by Senate Republicans on March 11 would accomplish that, supporting the priorities we all share without a single tax increase or service cut.

Our operating-budget team – Sen. Nikki Torres of Pasco and me – has proven there is absolutely no need to raise taxes on the people and employers of our state. We invite you to look at our budget online by searching for "$ave Washington" or visiting our senaterepublicans.wa.gov website. It truly is the better way to go.

- Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, represents the 25th Legislative District, and is Republican lead on the Senate Ways and Means Committee.