Governor to sign Working Families credit

Governor Chris Gregoire is poised to sign the Working Families Credit into law tomorrow during a ceremony in Olympia, NPI has learned.

The Working Families Credit is one of the many noteworthy progressive accomplishments from the 2008 legislative session. The credit decreases taxes for lower income Evergreen State residents by adding ten percent to their federal earned income tax credit refund.

Here's the Washington Budget & Policy Center on the benefits of the credit:

• It reduces the tax bill for low-wage workers by as much as 30 percent, mitigating the unfairness of Washington state’s regressive tax structure.
• It boosts a minimum-wage worker’s earnings by up to 31 percent when combined with the federal credit, supporting families who are working to move out of poverty.
• It brings additional income to communities across the state, particularly rural areas and smaller towns.

The credit unfortunately doesn't have a permanent, stable revenue source yet; the initial funding for it is coming from the state's budget surplus.

While the credit isn't being offered at the expense of public services like schools or state parks, it isn't revenue neutral because the appropriation for it is provisional. And that's the problem with relying on spare change to fund a worthy idea: it's a one time solution that may not be available next biennium.

The Legislature could correct this problem by repealing unnecessary, outdated special interest tax loopholes and exemptions, and reallocating some of those savings to the Working Families Credit. NPI will be urging state lawmakers to do just that in the 2009 legislative session.

There are currently loopholes for crop dusting, real estate commissions, professional services (this is a big one), tobacco production, fertilizers and chemical sprays, gold bullion, and even bull semen insemination:

RCW 82.08.0272
Exemptions — Sales of semen for artificial insemination of livestock.
The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 shall not apply to sales of semen for use in the artificial insemination of livestock.

The number of exemptions and tax breaks on the books, not to mention loopholes, is astonishing. There are hundreds, many of them decades old. Combined they are costing the State of Washington's treasury a staggering amount of money.

Not only do many of these exemptions and tax breaks need to be reviewed, but a sunset law needs to be enacted that will automatically force exemptions to expire after a certain period of time unless explicitly renewed by the Legislature. Tax breaks that do not result in clear and convincing benefits for the common wealth and the public good should be repealed.