State budget: Fix upside-down tax code by Tyler Freedman, WPSR Economic Inequity & Health Task Force Member
April 4, 2025 at 10:46 am
The Seattle Times
Re: “State Senate Democrats propose wealth tax, sales tax cut” (March 21, A1):
As a young adult, I want to live in a state where there is equal access to essential services. However, being a young adult in Seattle means that I personally see the upside-down tax code contribute to unaffordability in an expensive city. People within my community are having a hard time affording basics from public services to gas.
Because necessary expenses like rent, bills and insurance comprise a significant portion of my income, things like inflation or unexpected expenses impact me more financially. But because of the upside-down tax code, a greater portion of my income is taxed than my billionaire neighbors.
Cutting money from the state budget during the Great Recession led to greater poverty and increased cost for education. This devastated the health of our communities, and we still haven’t fully recovered. If lawmakers pass progressive taxes, we could fully fund the public infrastructure that we use every day, hopefully preventing an outcome seen with budget cuts in the past. If the ultrawealthy pay what they truly owe to our communities in taxes, we can avoid cuts to essential services and build a Washington where everyone can thrive.
Tyler Freedman, Seattle