Tax preferences and tax incentives are called tax expenditures by most other states and the US Congress – they are revenue that is not collected. Not collecting this revenue from certain taxpayers is a form of picking winners and losers and the end … Continue reading
Tax Exemption Transparency and Accountability Act 2015–HB 1239 & SB 5492 Tax exemptions, preferences, deductions, credits and deferrals are off budget expenditures. They lack the accountability and transparency that exists for other expenditures the state makes as part of the … Continue reading
Representative Gerry Pollet (LD-46) has reintroduced the Tax Exemption Transparency and Accountability Act in the 2015 Legislative Session. He was the prime sponsor of the bill in the House last year with 24 sponsors. This year as HB 1239 it has 26 … Continue reading
Legislation to create a Tax Expenditure Budget as part of the regular biennial budget appropriations process has took a big step forward. Companion bills have been introduced in both the House and the Senate in the Washington State Legislature. They both had … Continue reading
Initiative 636 – the Tax Exemption Transparency and Accountability Act has received a ballot title from the Washington State Attorney General. According to Washington State’s Department of Revenue’s figures, tax expenditures account for as much spending as the state spends … Continue reading
Tax Sanity has been busy this year filing initiative drafts for proposed legislation to create a tax expenditure budget. The goal is to draft legislation that will increase tax exemption accountability and transparency. Initiative 626 is the latest version to … Continue reading
You can help in our effort to close tax loopholes in Washington State by signing our petition to Governor Inslee and your Legislators. In order to increase accountability and close tax loopholes, the Washington State Legislature should adopt a Tax … Continue reading
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
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
