Month: January 2019

With the new configuration of the House and Senate in the State of Washington, comes a new wave of detrimental partisan bills that the Democrats could only get through with a majority like this one. This new wave began with House Bill 1172: “An act relating to…enacting a capital gains tax…” Now, the bill reads as a comprehensive idea to lower the property taxes of the average citizen and enact an income tax on “those benefitting from record Wall Street profits…” Not only does this Bill directly go against our State Constitution, it also forgoes the countless amendments that have been rejected by voters in Washington State.

This tax is one that has been brought to the attention of the State Legislature before—after being turned down in many of its different forms by the Washington State Supreme Court and the voters themselves. Though, with a little marketing and some catchy and heart-wrenching storytelling, the Democrats have rebranded the most hated proposal in the State to one that is necessary for schools to function.

After digging deeper into the idea of this income tax, one is able to see the many flaws that it presents. The Democrats, with the Governor as their leader, want you to believe that this is not an income tax at all—though, as we all know by now, these statements are nowhere near the truth—yet, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), “…capital gains are treated as income under the tax code and taxed as such.” With this, I am hoping that the Legislators on the other side of the aisle have read our State Constitution and listened to the opinions of the Washington State Supreme Court on this issue, yet, in case they haven’t—both say that income taxes in any form are unconstitutional.

Over everything, though, is the simple fact that with the passage of this Bill comes a nightmare for the entire State—especially King County. It is known throughout the country, and the world, that some of the main hallmarks of Seattle and the State itself are bustling business and great products. The last thing anyone should want to do is destroy this distinction for any reason at all. This, unfortunately, is what a Capital Gains Tax would do. Taking us from an economy and tax structure that promotes business, to one that creates a “volatile” tax system—according to the Washington Department of Revenue—and destroys the “competitive advantage” marketed to businesses, as stated by the Department of Commerce.

The Democrats need to understand the fact that there is no way anyone in the State can afford the implementation of this tax. Seeing as how this realization may never come, it is our job as grassroots activists to inform all of our neighbors, no matter their political affiliation, of the horrific detriment of this tax on all Washingtonians.

Statistics and data come from the following sources:

http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1172.pdf

https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/governor-proposes-9-capital-gains-income-tax

https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/local-income-taxes-are-illegal-in-washington-state

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article223563745.html

Whether it be trying to de-incentivize hiring within Seattle with her “Employee Head Tax,” handling the homeless problem, or delivering her promise of building “1,000 tiny homes” (of which she has only completed 97), Seattle’s Liberal Mayor Jenny Durkan can’t seem to do anything right.

While she has repeatedly bashed President Trump and continues to stick her hands into national politics, she doesn’t seem to be able to competently handle the local issues she was elected to oversee. Recently, her plan to connect the South Lake Union tracks with the First Hill tracks, known as the “Center City Connector Project” has, as most of her projects, been extremely mismanaged.

The initial costs for the project were $197 million. Now, the city of Seattle is estimating the costs of the project to run up a bill of approximately $286 million. Most of the funding is not yet guaranteed, and should the expected grants not come through, the city will be on the hook for a $140 million funding gap.

Not only is the funding gap deep and increasing by the day, the project is not being handled by competent professionals. Streetcars that don’t fit on the rail lines and are much heavier than the original cars were ordered. These cars will not be able to handle the tight corners present in Seattle with the current rail system. The city now has to replace most of the rails altogether to make up for their blunder, continuing in their quest to rack up additional costs on our behalf.

While the idea of new rails will serve to better connect the city, we need competent management at higher levels so that the Seattle taxpayers can finally stop footing the bill for the incompetence of Seattle City Officials.

Statistics and data come from the following sources:

http://durkan.seattle.gov/2019/01/city-releases-updated-capital-and-operating-costs-for-the-city-center-connector-streetcar/

https://seattle.curbed.com/2019/1/17/18187191/center-city-connector-downtown-streetcar

https://dailycaller.com/2018/07/25/seattle-mayor-wrong-streetcars/