Read my column in the Everett Herald

A month ago, I wrote about Tim Eyman's successful penetration of the state's op-ed pages in "Tim's multi-paper column spree".

Today, yours truly is delivering another response to one of those columns.

In our column this morning, which I co-authored with the leader of Taxpayers for Washington's Future, Steve Zemke "Voters deserve the truth about state's tax structure", we talk about Eyman's pattern of attacking state legislators and the Governor for having the courage to actually lead.

We also talk about the regressive nature of our state's tax structure and what our state leaders can do to change that:

There are two important reforms that would help repair the imbalance in the tax structure.

The first is to restore the revenue lost due to numerous outdated tax exemptions given to corporations and other special interests in this state. The second is tax reform that includes a state income tax.

In the last session, the House passed legislation mandating a study to determine if current tax exemptions were still serving a useful purpose and providing a return to the state. But the bill failed in the Senate. No exemptions were repealed.

The Department of Revenue estimates that exemptions from the business and occupation tax alone are costing the state $5.5 billion in this budget cycle.

Once approved, most tax exemptions exist in perpetuity. This is simply bad fiscal policy. Exemptions should contain time limits and require another vote from the Legislature in order to be extended.

The whole thing is really worth reading - and I strongly encourage you to check it out.