Tax Sanity ( www.taxsanity.org ) on May 17, 2013 filed an Initiative to the Legislature to address the issue of Tax Loophole Reform. As noted in an article in Crossscut entitled Tax exemptions are starting to draw an uncomfortable spotlight: … Continue reading
Steve Zemke
The Washington Wire has printed a story entitled “Will this finally be the Year for a Loophole Initiative?” The story is about Tax Sanity’s efforts for tax loophole reform in Washington State – as Eric Smith notes, year after year … Continue reading
A report last year by The Hamilton Project, which is affiliated with the Brookings Institute did an informative evaluation of some of the facts that underlie any effort for reform of our national tax policy. The Report is titled A … Continue reading
Libertarian Tim Eyman supposedly filed his 51st initiative this year with the Washington Secretary of State. In a press conference held in the morning at the Washington State Secretary of State’s Office he claimed that this is the “one” he … Continue reading
Tim Eyman’s latest proposed initiative continues his right wing libertarian approach to try to shut down state government. He is proposing to limit tax increases to one year and push for repeated votes at tax payer expense for minority rule … Continue reading
Tax expenditures are basically off budget spending. As one Washington State Legislator recently said, they are “gifts” of public money. They don’t have to be scrutinized the same as other state expenditures are when the biennial state budget is proposed … Continue reading
It is becoming more common these days to define a tax exemption, subsidy, loophole or exclusion as a tax expenditure. That can seem a little confusing until you understand what is happening. Catherine Rampell in an article entitled Tax Breaks: A … Continue reading
The following letter was sent today to Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson: Dear Attorney General Ferguson: I am wondering what the procedure is to have the RCW’s changed when the Washington State Supreme Court renders a decision declaring a … Continue reading
The Washington State Supreme Court ruled on February 28, 2013 that Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053 was unconstitutional. The ruling is a huge win for Washington State taxpayers because it throws out the supermajority vote requirement to close any tax loophole … Continue reading
Not funny how the Republicans refuse to close corporate tax loopholes. Tax loopholes that don’t provide a benefit to taxpayers and working families, but which only add to the corporate profit sheet, are corporate welfare. As Sanders notes, corporate profit … Continue reading