Washington Business Winter 2020 | Washington Business | Page 10

from the chair
State Budget Growth Continues to Surge
Fran Forgette
State lawmakers have an enviable challenge this year:
figuring out how to spend another surplus.
Washington’s success over the past decade has led to record-
breaking tax collections. State government has about $52.1
billion to manage schools, roads and state services in the
current two-year budget cycle. That’s up more than 18% from
the previous budget, and it follows on the heels of significant
increases of 13.6% in 2015-17 and a 16.9% in 2017-19.
Notably, much of this good fortune has been created
by Washington employers, from small family firms to
manufacturers with worldwide impact. It’s a good problem
to have.
There’s plenty of work to do. Washington’s workforce,
housing, infrastructure and child care all need attention.
AWB and our members have pushed for new investments and
practical solutions in these areas for years. These policy areas
are a place where Washington employers and policymakers
can work together to make our state stronger now, and in
future generations.
Some state lawmakers are ready to invest in these long-term
committments, but they want to raise taxes to do so. One idea
that’s been discussed is establishing a new capital gains tax in
order to pay for more child care services.
While it’s abundantly clear that Washington has a shortage
of affordable, high-quality child care, it’s not at all clear that new taxes are required to address the issue.
Meanwhile, Washington employers are already doing their share to pay for essential services. There
are 35 major and specialized business and occupation tax classifications managed by the Department of
Revenue. From hospitals to public road construction, there are real-life employers behind every dollar
collected by the state. Every two weeks, these employers send out checks to wage earners across the state,
who then stimulate our economy by purchasing local goods and services.
How many households, family businesses or even state governments can say their budgets have doubled
in the past 10 years?
Washington state government must live within its means if we have a chance of surviving the next
recession without making deep cuts in services and even higher tax increases.
It’s true there are many competing demands. Transportation infrastructure is vital for our economy.
Child care and early learning are among the best investments we could possibly make.
All of these needs and more can be addressed by the remarkable record revenues created by
Washington’s growing economy. Lawmakers have a responsibility to manage state agencies and
spending carefully in this era of expansion. Enacting new or higher taxes now only unfairly penalizes
the employers who made these budgets possible to begin with, and should be last on the list.
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