Well, this is a little awkward. House Democrats introduced a budget proposal today that does not include Governor Jay Inslee’s much-discussed carbon pollution tax as a source of revenue.
It did, however, include a 5 percent tax on capital gains. If you’re single and rake in more than $25,000 a year on your stock portfolio, you qualify for that tax. The budget proposal also gets rid of tax breaks for banks, travel agents, prescription drug dealers (wholesale), software licensing royalties, oil refineries, bottled water, and trademarks. In addition, the budget proposal would make out-of-state retailers charge a sales tax as well as increase the business and occupation tax. At the same time, the budget adds a tax credit for small businesses. Did I mention taxes? Republicans will probably not like those tax tax tax-y taxes.
But with them, the proposal prioritizes education funding, covering basic education (and the state’s McCleary responsibilities), freezing college tuition, and adding investments in early education and child care.
Inslee released a statement expressing his disappointment that the proposal didn’t include a tax on carbon pollution—something he discussed as an alternative to a conservative plan to cut funding for social services earlier this month.
“It is disappointing that the house did not include revenue from a carbon charge in its budget,” the governor said in a statement. “But I appreciate house leadership’s commitment to continue working on the carbon charge bill so it may be included in the revenue plan. I will also keep working on it because putting a charge on polluters is a good way to fight carbon pollution and protect the health of Washingtonians as well as finance education, transportation, and other pressing needs.”
Thus, the carbon tax isn’t dead. It still could be worked into a final budget by the end of the session. We also still have to see a budget proposal from the state senate, but Republicans control the senate.
So, why no carbon tax in the house proposal? Was it because Dems know that we have state legislators still questioning whether climate change is man-made?
If so, that part fucking sucks. But environmental groups say they’re still committed to taxing the state’s biggest polluters for the carbon they emit.
“We are committed to working with the legislature to account for the price of carbon in our economy,” Jessica Finn Coven, Washington director of Climate Solutions, said in a statement.
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