Good luck doing anything about it. WA voters are dumb. People whose taxes would go down under any sensible scheme still oppose those schemes. Republicans WANT taxes to be unfair. And to institute a real solution, which is an income tax, you'll have to amend the constitution.

I voted for you when you knocked on my front door in your first campaign and will continue voting for you. It was a nice chat.

Retail campaigning works.

We may be on our way to becoming a low tax, low service state, however, we write software, brew coffee, breed overrated indie pop artists and radiate insincere charm like nobody's business.

Agreed on all counts.

SO F-ING DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT ALREADY.

The Washington State Constitution actually permits the House & Senate to vote (simple majority) to impose a flat income tax with one exemption (suggest $1,000,000 on all income including dividends with no carry forward of interest).

And a citizen initiative could require all tax exemptions be subject to renewal by a majority vote of the People every Presidenti Election on a line item vote.

Read it sometime.

(Presidential not Presidenti)

I'm so glad I live in his district so I can keep voting for him.

Thing is the voters in this state (even in King Co) have continually voted in favor of fiscal responsibility rather than lining the pockets of public employee unions. Speaking of which I'd like to congratulate Scott Walker who was sworn in today.

Our legislators seem really good at talking about this problem, and really bad at actually trying to do something about it.

Until we get some new leadership in the party, I don't see that changing.

I assume a state income tax would lower the property tax?

Hell, last time the dems were fully in charge they used that power to reinstate I-747.

I'm grateful someone in the legislature is speaking the truth.

People think that taxes are too high because their incomes keep going down relative to inflation, while the incomes of the rich soar. In related truths: "Stupid people are too stupid to even realize that they're stupid." - John Cleese.

Meanwhile, both Germany and Mexico can somehow afford to send all their students to University for free. Yet in the richest country in the world we are nickel, diming, and student-loaning our young people to death. [link]

I, for yet another, support changing our regressive tax structure a.s.a.p.

Rep. Carlyle moralizes prettily but do his actions match the rhetoric? I don't think they do.

He is very powerful as the chair of the Finance Committee, but he seems to be working toward various weak reforms of the tax preference system, rather than questioning the very existence of these tax breaks and the lobbying system that companies use to create them. Here is the latest weak reform suggested by his blog:

"For tax incentives, exemptions and preferences that come before the committee in 2015, I intend to respectfully ask proponents to publicly make specific recommendations for how to fund their individual proposals. I do not mean this to put unnecessary or inappropriate pressure on guests or to make individuals uncomfortable, but I do intend to make it clear that each request for tax expenditures does require a source of financing."

Don't forget that Carlyle actually wrote the recent bill creating the largest tax break every by any state, for Boeing. I hope he respectfully asked Boeing's lobbyists for their ideas about where else the state should get the money.

One other thing, Jay Inslee (you know, the governor from the same party as Carlyle) has recently proposed a significant tax reform. Does Carlyle's piece endorse this or even seem to notice it? No. That shows how empty this moral posturing is.

@10: traditionally it would lower the sales tax.

I agree wholeheartedly, but Fnarf @1 is right. Actually doing something to fix it is really, really hard. An income tax would be a much more fair and stable tax, of course, but voters in this state have repeatedly voted it down. It seems pretty difficult to convince voters to support an income tax. You're going to have to do a lot more speeches like this to convince average voters to go along with it.

Good luck.

@13 - ...but, like others commenting here, I fully believe that Rep. Carlyle & Gov. Inslee et. al. will make little more than bleating noises towards substantive change.

PROVE US WRONG, CARLYLE. WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?
THE CORPORATIONS? OR THE PEOPLE?

Good money is on the corporations, else you likely wouldn't hold the chair you now have. N'est-ce pas? Mais bien sûr!

Here, let Uncle George remind us all how the deck is stacked. We're still trying to escape from the 19th century...

"I maintain my personal philosophical conviction that the best state tax structure is low rates, broadly and fairly applied to everyone with few special breaks."

Look, you can be "philosophical" and "personal" all you like. That's not what you were elected for (but not my district, so not my call). Legislators are elected to enact laws that serve the citizens of this state (and not just the wealthy ones).

I have respect for Rep. Carlyle but sometimes it does appear he speaks out of both sides of his mouth. It's confusing.

Let's take the example of where he stands on Mayor Murray's planning on trying to take over the majority of the School Board via the Legislature (this is where Rep Carlyle would come in).

Does Carlyle support this idea? If so, why? If not, what does he believe would help? He has said confusing things on this issue.

I am VERY against the idea for several reasons.

Two of the main ones? I might like one mayor but not another. I'm not giving up my voting ability for 7 different people to turn it over to just one person (the mayor) who isn't even solely elected to run schools.

The other reason? How come the Mayor thinks I'm bright enough to vote for him but not School Board members? I don't get it.

That's nice.

Now, what are you going to do about it?

Allll the way back in 2013, you wrote and supported the largest tax break in the nation (also voted for by Frank Chopp.

In 2009, while the democrats had both the house and the senate, both you and Chopp voted to reduce unemployment insurance taxes while making it more difficult for regular workers to get unemployment. (SB 5963)

So...not to say I don't trust you, but your record speaks for itself.

@9 Until we get a new party, I don't see that happening.

Don't expect a response if you e-mail "your" state's legislaterrs with this question: Why not close all those hundreds of loopholes so education, universal healthcare, infrastructure upgrades, and a state-wide livable wage can be funded?

@9: Please move yourself beyond the Party-Politics Paradigm: the way to go is Direct Democracy ( think: ballot measures. --- http://www.ballotpedia.org & http://www.citizensincharge.org ). Issue Politics is it, not Coke! ;D --- http://www.politicalcompass.org/test ).

Washington voters already had a chance to implement a modest income tax solely on high earners, but voted it down overwhelmingly. As much as any other state, we do what the moneyed elite tell us to do. We're sheep, really; no better than a bunch of Kansas rubes outside Seattle city limits. Jeff Bezos thanks you wholeheartedly.

We've yet to figure out, and may never figure out, that it costs money to run a civilization. And if the wealthy and comfortable don't pay for it, guess who will.

Someone will tell us that any restructuring or new revenue source is really a secret tax increase. Couple that with the fact that no one knows what their tax dollars actually pay for. I've had long conversations with people filled with budget numbers and self righteous rage against government waste in specific departments who couldn't tell me what those departments did. Like they literally had know answer to the question "what does that department do?" let alone an answer to "what will happen if we stop doing that thing that department does?"

So people don't know how much they pay, nor what it pays for. And their aggressive ignorance is held up as virtuous by a disturbing majority of our political leadership. AKA - "the public is right to be skeptical..." No, they aren't skeptical. They haven't the foggiest idea what they're talking about.

Bravo, Reuven. Well stated with no exaggeration; it is that dire and unfair. If anybody can educate and lead on this, you can.

let's not be afraid of a discussion about an income tax. It's worked in California just fine. A fair formula with a lowering or elimination of sales tax -- what could be more fair and efficient? I look forward to the conversation, and soon, before life here gets more unpleasant.

@1/@16: No. A graduated income tax (more than one rate) would violate the state constitution's requirement for uniformity in taxation. But a single rate income tax (with an exemption at a certain level) is not unconstitutional at all. As @24 notes, voters rejected this. But voters reject a lot of things the first time around before eventually approving them. It's ok to run things past the voters again after a couple of years, and now would be a good time. Go Reuven!

@14 - couldn't have said it better. How about ending corporate tax giveaways?

So here's how it is, the pols wont do anything unless WE push them to do it. You can bitch about "leadership" all you want but that's too risky so they wont do it. So write you're pols some emails.

Still there are some problems like uncontested seats, don't know what to do about that. And did he stand up and say no to Boeing?

Maybe Daddy Gates will throw down another pile of cash to get some initiative to fix this on the ballot.

How about you running for office to end this Classist bullshit? ( and filing a petition with Our Secretary of State's office to get a peoples' ballot initiative on the 2015 state-wide general-election ballot that would close all needless and Morally and constitutionally indefensible tax loopholes that only benefit a few rich bassturds? ---- http://www.ballotpedia.org & http://www.citizensincharge.org & http://www.movetoamend.org & http://www.ctj.org & http://www.politicalcompass.org/test & http://www.corporatewelfare.org & http://theyrule.net & http://www.itep.org/whopays & http://www.broadleft.org/us.htm & http://www.inequality.org ).

"The real measure of whether a state’s revenue is too high, low, or just right is whether it meets the needs of its residents."..in other words a Democrat/Socialist (of which WA. has too many) variation of "from those according to their means to those according to their needs"..anything and any spiel/hocus-pocus/numbers-cooking to get taxes raised.

Being a lower taxed state is somehow morally bankrupt? That kind of logic can only come from any of the Democrat/Socialists that Washington has too many of lately."The real measure of whether a state’s revenue is too high, low, or just right is whether it meets the needs of its residents"....in other words, the Socialist mantra-"from each according to his means, to each according to his needs". Their belief is, "we must penalize the rich and wealthy more than we do now, because they have unjustly gotten their riches off the backs of the poor and needy".
The real morally-bankrupts here are the politicians who don't work, have never worked and suck the life-energy from those who do.

Typical Seattle , give me, give me something for nothing for the better of man kind, but don't worry it should be free. But the fools don't realize that the middle class fronts the bills. Then you put the same fucked up politicians in office. You people make me sick! To bad treason wasn't handled with a bullet! To bad this state gives a lot of freebies out.

Picture this!! A state that made people work to live, and politicians that work with the people's best interest. Wow problem solved!!