The Blog at MSPC

With the stroke of a pen, the future of the Snake River dams is looking better. President Trump issued an Executive Order on June 12 repealing a secretly negotiated memorandum signed by President Biden that was attempting to set the path for the possible breaching of the Snake River dams.

Washington state lawmakers this year imposed a new tax that has already sent tremors through the state’s tech titans and small business owners. Senate Bill 5814 significantly broadened the state’s retail sales tax to include an extensive array of digital services.

There was a lot of intrigue in Washington state as citizens and businesses waited to see what Governor Ferguson would do with the record tax increases lawmakers sent to his desk this year. Despite speculation that the new Governor may veto these massive tax increases, in the end, he signed them into law on May 20.

While an attempt was also made again to tax drivers by the mile to divert money, lawmakers “[waved] the white flag” on the issue this legislative session. This mileage tax will likely resurface again. The transportation tax bill currently sits on Governor Ferguson's desk for signature.

Concluding the measure was "administrative" in nature, rather than a policy matter, justices claimed it couldn't be brought to voters. The state Supreme Court was the only court to rule that way, with other courts upholding the measure calling it a "classic vagrancy ordinance."

While the rest of the nation today enjoys the relief of surviving another National Tax Day (April 15), our friends in Washington instead woke up to the news that no fewer than five new tax increase bills were introduced on April 16.