4 ms·

Income taxes are not unconstitutional. Progressive income taxes are. No one wants to impose a flat income tax though.

• giantg2 6y ago
  Thanks for bringing that up. It looks like local income taxes are not allowed under law and that any tax at the state level has to be flat. It seems the article may have misrepresented that with "Income taxes are unconstitutional in Washington state.". (Unless there's some obscure case law regarding flat income taxes)
• AnimalMuppet 6y ago
  So, this is a tax on certain kinds of income rather than all income. And it exempts the first $250K, so it's a progressive tax. So...
  • giantg2 6y ago
    I wonder if the courts care though. The B&O tax applies at different rates for different business types. The class of property taxed should be gross business receipts, but it seemed the courts are ok with the rates varying by business type.
  • xxpor 6y ago
    I don't think that matters. The relevant text: "All taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax and shall be levied and collected for public purposes only. The word "property" as used herein shall mean and include everything, whether tangible or intangible, subject to ownership." https://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/Pages/WAConstitution.aspx#AMENDMENT_7 https://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/Pages/WAConstitution.aspx#AME... The SCOWA has said income is property. But it's up in the air if capital gains is income, or property. I also don't think this would fail the test if it's considered a separate class though, since the rate is uniform with an exemption. My understanding is that model has been fine for a long time, and is how seniors can get discounts on property taxes or something.
    • giantg2 6y ago
      "The SCOWA has said income is property. But it's up in the air if capital gains is income, or property." How is that?