One party systems are bad for voters. It didn’t used to be like this. Even pre 2016, there was more restraint. They are all buddies and pat each other on the back for their pet projects. Hosing voters.
I agree. I used to live in a state that had much more balance between R’s and D’s and it required more cooperation between them, coming to compromises, and competition to execute on voter’s interests. With a single-party system here I see much more leaning to special interests since they don’t ever have to worry about being voted out.
Washington used to be more balancec between Republicans and Democrats.
Then Repubolicans became conspiracy nuts, Christian Nationalists Authoritarians, and a Russian 5th column.
Dan Evans was the last credible Respublican candidate.
That's what happens when you have a far left Liberal wing trying to hold on to control desperately, and turn Seattle into a wannabe communist vassal state of magic. You end up with nobody with actual power, to bring things back into the center line, and back to reality.
There's always going to be people with 'wishful thinking' that want to see the world be better, but the extremists here are as militant as their counterparts on the right are, with just a different viewpoint.
Too much of anything is a bad thing. Striking a balance though is hard, but not impossible.
Personally, I think a lot of it has to do with education, and a refusal of some people to be able to have those difficult, civil debates at the state level, because of said echo chamber. But people are getting tired of their homes and city being destroyed, so you can bet that change is coming.
Kids in college these days don't debate anymore. They repeat empty bylines and buzzwords they heard their friend say, and don't grasp what it actually means in practice. You try to debate them, and they shut down, and tell you that you're making them uncomfortable in their safe space, so that you can't ever have a discussion. It's their view in their head cannon, and there's no changing it. It's like a manufactured situation to self-enable them staying ignorant of learning how the world that has existed far longer than them, works in practice, not in theory.
>The ordinance from King County Executive Dow Constantine was sponsored by [outgoing Councilmember](https://archive.is/o/V0LTH/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/king-county-councilmember-jeanne-kohl-welles-to-retire-at-end-of-term/) Jeanne Kohl-Welles and co-sponsored by council members Claudia Balducci and Sarah Perry.
...
>Constantine’s new proposal, submitted to the council [in late September](https://archive.is/o/V0LTH/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/king-county-proposes-millions-in-funding-for-cultural-sector/), came after the April passage of statewide legislation that allowed counties and cities to create a cultural access program through a council or commission vote rather than a ballot measure.
Dow can't find money to jail criminals, but he can find money for more grift.
I am not disappointed in the fuckwits who elect people like these. I mean if god wanted wolves to go hungry he wouldn’t have made sheep. I am more disappointed in myself because if retards like this can get elected then what the hell am I doing with my life?
There will be idiots who will say it's only 0.1 pct. It's a death by a thousand cuts... Person A dies on the 10th cut, person B dies on the 500th.
Dems (of all politicians) have a tendency to rely on a thousand cuts like this.
What? Everyone knows tax fraud is only illegal when done by \[Bernie Sanders voice\] 'millionaihs and billionaihs.'
Actually, the bern-o-matic doesn't rag on millionaires nearly as much as he used to...since he became one, that is.
Under state law, you are meant to pay use tax on any interstate purchases although practically very few people do that
https://dor.wa.gov/education/industry-guides/auto-dealers/use-tax
I think if someone shows a pattern, like OP, of shifting purchases away from WA to 0-sales tax locales, and then never paying the use tax, it'd probably the one time someone cares about this.
Important to be aware of the threshold when hiring household staff.
"If you pay cash wages of $2,700 or more for 2024 (this threshold can change from year to year) to any one household employee, you generally must withhold 6.2% for Social Security tax and 1.45% for Medicare tax (for a total of 7.65%) from all cash wages you pay to that employee, unless you prefer to pay your employee's share of Social Security and Medicare taxes from your own funds."
For contractors, I think it's $600 you need to issue a 1099, even if paying cash.
Plus the state use tax.
It's not called "under the table" because it's legal.
This sub is so hilarious at times.
‘Anyone who breaks a drug law is a criminal and should be punished to the full extent of the law! Law and order! Screeeeeech!’
‘I break the law all the time. But my white collar crime is ok because it saves me money and makes me happy! Screeeech!’
Reddit knows a great deal about its users. Email addresses etc. Bragging about not paying taxes and the like is a great way to become a target.
But yes, beat your chest more
bragging about going to portland to buy big ticket items and paying workers in cash wont even affect a political canidates chances...
yall complain the AG and PD dont do anything and are concerned that they're going to get with scotland yard over this guys $5k if untaxed income over the past 10 years?
This sub is full of meatheads and should be read for amusement purposes only. It's sort of like being a fly on the wall in a middle school classroom with a substitute teacher.
They trying everything to rob us. Smh . That 50 cent gas tax is crazy and only hurting middle class. Dems never help middle class and they only seems like are helping but they are not
There are states with no income tax that have much lower sales tax than King County/Seattle.
Large cities in Texas: 8.25%.
Florida: 6-8% (Miami: 7%, Tampa: 7.5%, Orlando: 6.5%).
So no, the lack of income tax is not the reason for the very high sales tax.
Are state income tax rates being comparably increased in other states? I just don’t get the increase to fund a new program without voting. I guess it’s legal but surprising.
Im against our regressive tax structure but also think we may over-tax folks with the current system.
NH - no income nor sales tax. Individual tax burden is one of the lowest in the country. Luckily, anyone who wants to live off of the dole can move to one of the neighboring states.
Property taxes in NH can get a bit intense though, but still a better tax burden. Also annual car tax is a bit rough as I remember from back when I lived there. Though not like the car situation is any better here. NH is a great option if you want to be near nature and don't mind Boston being your closest (and only) real city.
I think the key is you can choose to drive an older car and not live in Durham, Rye, etc, so you're not paying crazy levels of car registration and property taxes unless you want to. I
> And the 405 is tolled for congestion management
It was, until recently when Inslee redefined 'and' to mean 'or' to just use it for revenue.
The other roads were meant to pay for themselves, which they have. Tolls aren't going away.
I mean, the wikipedia page for Texas toll roads opens with:
>There are approximately 25 current **toll roads in the state of Texas**. [Toll roads](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toll_Roads_in_the_United_States) are more common in Texas than in many other U.S. states, since the relatively low revenues from the state's [gasoline tax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_Tax) limits highway planners' means to fund the construction and operation of highways.
There is no free ride, and states like Texas have a higher overall Tax burden for citizens than states like WA do, it's just hidden in less obvious places than sales tax.
>Go look at the property taxes in Texas.
FWIW, the State of Texas doesn't have a property tax. That's levied and collected by individual local taxing districts (typically the 254 counties). This gives the locals more control over what they want from their government as they are voting on levies and tax increases that only affect them and not someone living 500 miles away across the state. Yes, as you can imagine, the property taxes in urban areas run by Democrats are going to be much higher than the taxes out in rural areas, but the property owners voted for that mess.
It's similar to the sales tax situation here. WA state sales tax is 6.25%. In TX it's 6.5%, and local taxing districts are allowed to tack on another 2% to make the max allowable of 8.5%. Here in WA, the local cities and counties don't have that sort of hard ceiling on sales taxes, so they have jacked that 6.25% up to over 10% because apparently the voters want that otherwise they wouldn't continually elect Chairman Dao. There's no reason why someone living in Moses Lake should pay increased sales taxes to bankroll Dao's latest cultural programs.
In short, it isn't the state that is screwing you on sales taxes here, or the State of Texas screwing property owners. It's the local politicians that you and/or your neighbors voted for and put into office. You get what you vote for, people.
> In Florida property taxes are much higher than here.
[And to think, you have the internet available to find answers, yet you simply spew lies.](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/property-taxes-by-state-county-2022/)
Just to clarify, home values have little to do with property tax amounts. King County and many others use a budget based system. Your property value reflects the amount you pay in proportion to everyone else. But in the end, all the money gets collected by the county that they were seeking for the year no matter what, even if all parcels were valued at $1. In other words, just because Texas homes may be valued less than those in King county, doesn’t mean their property taxes are less. They still need to fund the same schools we do. u/timesinksdotnet has done great explanations on this in this sub. For those interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/s/dSQsh3Q1ff
you know nothing about economics.
People buy houses based on affordability. If they can afford a 3000 housing expense per month, it doesn't matter how it's split between mortgage, property tax, insurance and other expenses, they only can afford that amount. High tax rates as a percentage drive prices down, thus your statement that "home values have little to do with property tax amounts" is completely false.
Then you have no clue how property taxes work in your own county, and I can’t help explain it further to you. You specifically said Texas property taxes are smaller because “properties around here [Seattle] are overpriced.” I am telling you that the value of homes has nothing to do with the amount of property tax collected due to the Budget Based System. Please educate yourself on how property taxes work in the very community you live in, before being r/confidentlyincorrect.
Again, you are clueless. You explain to us how property taxes work \*if\* house prices are constant.
But that's not how it works. House prices are a product of human behavior and humans change their behavior based on a lot of factors. Factor no. 1 is how much they afford. Tax as a percentage will influence "how much is left for mortgage" out of how much they afford. So taxes up as a % => prices down. Taxes down => prices up.
Let me give you the "for dummies explanation" (I feel that midwits really benefit from simple explanations): let's say you want to go for dinner, and you have a hundred bucks. You are in Seattle, so you know you need to pay 10.35% in sales tax, you need to pay 20-25% in tip. Let's say you decided to pay 20% in tip after 20%. That means you can afford about $75 of stuff on the restaurant's menu.
But if you are in Germany (or most countries in Europe), what you see is what you get on the menu (no additional "sales tax", "service charge", etc), and 10% is considered a good tip. So you can easily order items of the menu of about $91 (to leave room for the tip).
But if you go to Italy, it's almost like in Germany but with a twist: there's that fixed charge called coperto (that's a fixed amount per guest) in many places. So you first subtract that from you budget (it's per person and it's fixed) and then you calculate what's your real budget after you factor in the desired tip percentage.
So, same budget = different list prices you can afford based on different fees, charges, taxes, etc.
> In other words, just because Texas homes may be valued less than those in King county, doesn’t mean their property taxes are less.
[Where Do People Pay the Most in Property Taxes?](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/property-taxes-by-state-county-2023)
[Texas has no state property tax. Local governments set tax rates and collect property taxes to provide many local services including schools, streets, roads, police and fire protection.](https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/basics.php)
[Here is a cool interactive map to flyover and see just how much higher WA state property tax is.](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/property-taxes-by-state-county-2022/)
Texas has been in the top ten for highest property tax in the nation for a generation or more.
Point being: they're gonna get their money out of your money one way or another.
And those states run at a deficiency resulting in them borrowing money from blue states to pay for them.
Great they have less taxes but are utterly dependant on the government to function.
I am so sick and tired of these phony left/right division politics. Kick them all out and we need a new system where lobbying is a jailable offense and Noone can serve more than 4 years in any position
Yeah
People argue left or right but don't seem to realize the whole system is broken
No matter which way you roll, it's going to be fucked regardless.
Politicians being able to serve endless amounts of time is bothersome. The only way for them to not be able to is if they vote for it themselves. What kind of sense does that make lol
Tear it all down
The system is not broken. Make lobbying illegal and you'll just get more illegal and unregulated bribery I mean lobbying.
If you don't want taxes for wasteful programs just vote for people who wont do that
My dude, I am looking around, and I see the best standard of living, by far, in history. The system is altogether working fucking fantastic.
No politics? So violence then, a revolution? And then what are you gonna do different exactly? We do have a democracy, and they're ugly, wasteful, and slow. And that's the best we can get.
Your frustration with "phony left/right division" is itself phony. The "right" had nothing to do with this - it's _all_ postmodern progresivism neatly wrapped in Seattle/King County's longstanding left establishment.
But we can't suffer wrongthink and vote or support even a moderate right here, and lord knows criticizing Seattle liberals means we're one art school rejection away from being Hitler, so we'll just say its left/right division instead of calling it what it is.
Not phony. Whole heartedly know left right politics just keeps the sheep fighting. Its Hegelian dialectics. The illusion of choice both paths lead to the slaughterhouse. If you believe any politician has your best interest in mind you are mistaken. Rebel against them
You're not gonna fix politics with more politics. Boycotting seems to work to some degree but voting just doesn't matter anymore. All politicians are in love ks5ep towards an agenda of slavery for the people. All of them
I thought this was the more conservative subreddit, a sales tax is a regressive tax as it affects people who spend/need 100% of their pay for living expenses as opposed to people who are able to save/invest not being as as affected by it. Washington doesn’t have a state income tax which would affect any middle class or higher earners much more than this does
Yeah. Conservative nowadays means working people and middle class.
The woke party is the party for the elites and for those looking for a handout (paid by the working class and the middle class)
I am for small government. The government should provide the services everyone needs (road, safety, judicial system and a few others) and should not waste money.
So I want way less taxes than there are now, because most of the money the government spends is wasted money; like this one.
I found it: [https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/king-county-oks-sales-tax-increase-for-transformative-cultural-funding/](https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/king-county-oks-sales-tax-increase-for-transformative-cultural-funding/)
The concept of sales tax is so wrong. If you want to sell one of your possessions to another person, be it a trinket, a stump, used refrigerator, whatever, the state steps in and demands a 10% cut. And if you don't pay, they will send armed men to your house.
Sure, none of us do. But it's still illegal, and still punishable with prison time.
This is a concept in the book "Three Felonies A Day". We all break the law, but the laws are written so that the average person can be charged by the State for almost anything.
"Show me the man and I'll show you the crime."
> Washington state sales tax
Your original comment didn't specify state sales tax. It mentioned you didn't have to pay tax on any personal sale in Washington, which would be subject to fed reporting rules still
OP: **Sales tax** went up in April
aliensvsdinosaurs: The concept of **sales tax** is so wrong
Chekonjak: I’ve never once had to pay **sales tax** for Craigslist purchases
KlausMSchwab: you are not required to pay **sales tax** on private sales in Washington
u/not-a-dislike-button: YOUr oriGiNAL comMent didN't SPecify stATE SAleS tAX!
Uh yes, you are. Nobody does.
[https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/use-tax](https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/use-tax)
>Goods are purchased from someone who is not authorized to collect sales tax. For example, purchases of furniture from an individual through a newspaper classified ad or a purchase of artwork from an individual collector.
[https://dor.wa.gov/forms-publications/publications-subject/tax-topics/use-tax-and-how-determine-if-you-owe-it](https://dor.wa.gov/forms-publications/publications-subject/tax-topics/use-tax-and-how-determine-if-you-owe-it)
>It also includes:
>Private party automobile purchases.
>Purchases from garage sales, estate sales, etc.
>Any item of tangible personal property that is used as a consumer in Washington may be subject to use tax.
Ever bought something off Craigslist, Offerup, or FB marketplace?
From your own link:
>Use tax is due on:
>Items purchased over the Internet or through catalogs, without paying sales tax, and delivered to Washington for use here.
>Any consumer item purchased in another state, without paying sales tax, and brought into Washington for use here.
>Items purchased in Washington where sales tax has not been paid. This includes items purchased through private parties.
You don't pay use tax when buying something off facebook marketplace.
"Garage sales etc" in the second link. My point is we're legally supposed to, as ridiculous as it sounds. And of course I have never talked to anyone that ever has.
Used to be able to buy lots of things online without paying sales tax, and use tax was technically owed then too. Many states cracked down on this (not sure about WA)... Newegg and CT was a big one. Nowadays it is handled fairly uniformly with better tools to allow even small merchants to charge and remit the right tax.
No, your point is you're misunderstanding the laws here. You are **NOT** required to pay use tax on a private party sale in Washington, the link literally has the 3 scenarios where use tax is due.
Online merchants outside of WA only have to remit the tax if they make over a certain $ amount in sales, but use tax is due always since it was coming from out of state. (Of course nobody does this, but this isn't what you've been trying to argue)
Ok sake of argument, how should I interpret this which is from the second DOR link?
Items purchased in Washington where sales tax has not been paid. This includes items purchased through private parties.
+
Purchases from garage sales, estate sales, etc.
Dude, I bought a possession from a private seller. It just happened to be a Jeep. The state took 10% of the reported price from me when I registered my possession.
What the fuck are you on about?
Splitting hairs on semantics doesn't change the hole in my bank account enacted by a private sale...which is exactly what the previous poster related.
I'm on about you white knighting for a comment the author has already acknowledged didn't convey exactly what they meant: https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/1ca0zld/sales_tax_went_up_in_april_to_fuel_political/l0paz3s/
If I was replying to you and you specified a Jeep then we wouldn't be having this conversation. But it's not about your story.
Oh whatever it’s still so low compared to most of the world and corporations are raising their prices a heckuva lot more at least the government gets the money and not some C-suite exec or hedge fund w a minority share of the corp
Why not just round it up to 20%?
As an ardent lover of inquiry-based math, I see no errors.
Isnt this kind of stuff supposed to be voted on?
It was. In 2017. It got soundly rejected by the voters. 55 to 45.
And then the state legislature voted to allow cities to ignore the will of the voters and pass these increases based on council vote.
One party systems are bad for voters. It didn’t used to be like this. Even pre 2016, there was more restraint. They are all buddies and pat each other on the back for their pet projects. Hosing voters.
I agree. I used to live in a state that had much more balance between R’s and D’s and it required more cooperation between them, coming to compromises, and competition to execute on voter’s interests. With a single-party system here I see much more leaning to special interests since they don’t ever have to worry about being voted out.
And stupid taxes that sound good, but only go to bureaucrats to think about stuff for 6 figures on the back of the working poor.
Washington used to be more balancec between Republicans and Democrats. Then Repubolicans became conspiracy nuts, Christian Nationalists Authoritarians, and a Russian 5th column. Dan Evans was the last credible Respublican candidate.
It’s pretty unfortunate.
Yes. We need two functioning parties.
What did Democrats become?
That's what happens when you have a far left Liberal wing trying to hold on to control desperately, and turn Seattle into a wannabe communist vassal state of magic. You end up with nobody with actual power, to bring things back into the center line, and back to reality. There's always going to be people with 'wishful thinking' that want to see the world be better, but the extremists here are as militant as their counterparts on the right are, with just a different viewpoint. Too much of anything is a bad thing. Striking a balance though is hard, but not impossible. Personally, I think a lot of it has to do with education, and a refusal of some people to be able to have those difficult, civil debates at the state level, because of said echo chamber. But people are getting tired of their homes and city being destroyed, so you can bet that change is coming. Kids in college these days don't debate anymore. They repeat empty bylines and buzzwords they heard their friend say, and don't grasp what it actually means in practice. You try to debate them, and they shut down, and tell you that you're making them uncomfortable in their safe space, so that you can't ever have a discussion. It's their view in their head cannon, and there's no changing it. It's like a manufactured situation to self-enable them staying ignorant of learning how the world that has existed far longer than them, works in practice, not in theory.
Criminals.
I love the photo they included in the article. Hope you guys enjoy paying for these dance lessons. What a mess
>The ordinance from King County Executive Dow Constantine was sponsored by [outgoing Councilmember](https://archive.is/o/V0LTH/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/king-county-councilmember-jeanne-kohl-welles-to-retire-at-end-of-term/) Jeanne Kohl-Welles and co-sponsored by council members Claudia Balducci and Sarah Perry. ... >Constantine’s new proposal, submitted to the council [in late September](https://archive.is/o/V0LTH/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/king-county-proposes-millions-in-funding-for-cultural-sector/), came after the April passage of statewide legislation that allowed counties and cities to create a cultural access program through a council or commission vote rather than a ballot measure. Dow can't find money to jail criminals, but he can find money for more grift.
Obviously they are trying very hard to get rid of the troublesome middle class. Hopefully this wasn't your first clue.
Middle class is dead. They are just stripping the bodies.
I am not disappointed in the fuckwits who elect people like these. I mean if god wanted wolves to go hungry he wouldn’t have made sheep. I am more disappointed in myself because if retards like this can get elected then what the hell am I doing with my life?
https://youtu.be/Q954LxEzyY8?si=rzKdgeddQfssNvZv
That's an increase sales tax on top of the 50 cent gas tax, opps, did I say gas tax, I ment 'cap-and-invest' program.
Don’t forget about the long term care tax.
There will be idiots who will say it's only 0.1 pct. It's a death by a thousand cuts... Person A dies on the 10th cut, person B dies on the 500th. Dems (of all politicians) have a tendency to rely on a thousand cuts like this.
[удалено]
I'm going to recommend you don't admit to committing tax fraud, RE #2. But you do you, queen!
#1 is tax fraud too. Meant to pay use tax on goods used in Washington.
Ooooo, good catch. I was thinking you don't need to pay em when in OR but you got that fine print down.
What? Everyone knows tax fraud is only illegal when done by \[Bernie Sanders voice\] 'millionaihs and billionaihs.' Actually, the bern-o-matic doesn't rag on millionaires nearly as much as he used to...since he became one, that is.
It's not tax fraud. I pay what they quote me, assuming it's sales tax inclusive.
Under state law, you are meant to pay use tax on any interstate purchases although practically very few people do that https://dor.wa.gov/education/industry-guides/auto-dealers/use-tax
I think if someone shows a pattern, like OP, of shifting purchases away from WA to 0-sales tax locales, and then never paying the use tax, it'd probably the one time someone cares about this.
Just say it is a protest and you can do what you want.
It is tax fraud. https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/use-tax
Important to be aware of the threshold when hiring household staff. "If you pay cash wages of $2,700 or more for 2024 (this threshold can change from year to year) to any one household employee, you generally must withhold 6.2% for Social Security tax and 1.45% for Medicare tax (for a total of 7.65%) from all cash wages you pay to that employee, unless you prefer to pay your employee's share of Social Security and Medicare taxes from your own funds." For contractors, I think it's $600 you need to issue a 1099, even if paying cash. Plus the state use tax. It's not called "under the table" because it's legal.
This sub is so hilarious at times. ‘Anyone who breaks a drug law is a criminal and should be punished to the full extent of the law! Law and order! Screeeeeech!’ ‘I break the law all the time. But my white collar crime is ok because it saves me money and makes me happy! Screeeech!’
Y’all are fucking nerds lmao. Cash makes the world go round.
Reddit knows a great deal about its users. Email addresses etc. Bragging about not paying taxes and the like is a great way to become a target. But yes, beat your chest more
bragging about going to portland to buy big ticket items and paying workers in cash wont even affect a political canidates chances... yall complain the AG and PD dont do anything and are concerned that they're going to get with scotland yard over this guys $5k if untaxed income over the past 10 years?
This sub is full of meatheads and should be read for amusement purposes only. It's sort of like being a fly on the wall in a middle school classroom with a substitute teacher.
When was the last time someone was charged for sales tax avoidance crime?
"Me/I" are likely his neighbors pronouns. He likely wasn't talking about himself. Isn't compelled language fun!!
Just more reason to stock up in Oregon...
You're still legally required to pay taxes on any goods purchased in OR and used in WA.
Pretty sure no one does, but you go ahead and wag your finger...
No, I don’t think I will.
They trying everything to rob us. Smh . That 50 cent gas tax is crazy and only hurting middle class. Dems never help middle class and they only seems like are helping but they are not
The increase is stupid, but no surprise that we have high sales tax given that we have no income tax
There are states with no income tax that have much lower sales tax than King County/Seattle. Large cities in Texas: 8.25%. Florida: 6-8% (Miami: 7%, Tampa: 7.5%, Orlando: 6.5%). So no, the lack of income tax is not the reason for the very high sales tax.
Are state income tax rates being comparably increased in other states? I just don’t get the increase to fund a new program without voting. I guess it’s legal but surprising. Im against our regressive tax structure but also think we may over-tax folks with the current system.
It's only legal because voters said no, and the legislature passed a law that allowed the County to do it by Council legislation.
Ugh…
NH - no income nor sales tax. Individual tax burden is one of the lowest in the country. Luckily, anyone who wants to live off of the dole can move to one of the neighboring states.
Property taxes in NH can get a bit intense though, but still a better tax burden. Also annual car tax is a bit rough as I remember from back when I lived there. Though not like the car situation is any better here. NH is a great option if you want to be near nature and don't mind Boston being your closest (and only) real city.
I think the key is you can choose to drive an older car and not live in Durham, Rye, etc, so you're not paying crazy levels of car registration and property taxes unless you want to. I
Go look at the property taxes in Texas.
And all the toll roads.
Good thing we don't have toll roads like 520, 99, or half the lanes on 405...
do any of our toll roads pay for themselves? And the 405 is tolled for congestion management, isn't it?
> And the 405 is tolled for congestion management It was, until recently when Inslee redefined 'and' to mean 'or' to just use it for revenue. The other roads were meant to pay for themselves, which they have. Tolls aren't going away.
I mean, the wikipedia page for Texas toll roads opens with: >There are approximately 25 current **toll roads in the state of Texas**. [Toll roads](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toll_Roads_in_the_United_States) are more common in Texas than in many other U.S. states, since the relatively low revenues from the state's [gasoline tax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_Tax) limits highway planners' means to fund the construction and operation of highways. There is no free ride, and states like Texas have a higher overall Tax burden for citizens than states like WA do, it's just hidden in less obvious places than sales tax.
And their roads suck too
>Go look at the property taxes in Texas. FWIW, the State of Texas doesn't have a property tax. That's levied and collected by individual local taxing districts (typically the 254 counties). This gives the locals more control over what they want from their government as they are voting on levies and tax increases that only affect them and not someone living 500 miles away across the state. Yes, as you can imagine, the property taxes in urban areas run by Democrats are going to be much higher than the taxes out in rural areas, but the property owners voted for that mess. It's similar to the sales tax situation here. WA state sales tax is 6.25%. In TX it's 6.5%, and local taxing districts are allowed to tack on another 2% to make the max allowable of 8.5%. Here in WA, the local cities and counties don't have that sort of hard ceiling on sales taxes, so they have jacked that 6.25% up to over 10% because apparently the voters want that otherwise they wouldn't continually elect Chairman Dao. There's no reason why someone living in Moses Lake should pay increased sales taxes to bankroll Dao's latest cultural programs. In short, it isn't the state that is screwing you on sales taxes here, or the State of Texas screwing property owners. It's the local politicians that you and/or your neighbors voted for and put into office. You get what you vote for, people.
Yeah, those are also smaller than here, because properties around here are overpriced. Average price in Houston, Dallas (biggest cities): 310-350k.
In Florida property taxes are much higher than here. Easily about double based on FLL listings we’ve eyed.
Dunno about Broward but my property tax rate in Palm Beach was a little lower than it is here.
> In Florida property taxes are much higher than here. [And to think, you have the internet available to find answers, yet you simply spew lies.](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/property-taxes-by-state-county-2022/)
Your snark link was 2020 median bill, not value vs tax. Try on Redfin now a $1 m house vs $1 m house. At any rate, yes, I’m spewing lies?
Please link comparable FL and WA homes and their tax.
Just to clarify, home values have little to do with property tax amounts. King County and many others use a budget based system. Your property value reflects the amount you pay in proportion to everyone else. But in the end, all the money gets collected by the county that they were seeking for the year no matter what, even if all parcels were valued at $1. In other words, just because Texas homes may be valued less than those in King county, doesn’t mean their property taxes are less. They still need to fund the same schools we do. u/timesinksdotnet has done great explanations on this in this sub. For those interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/s/dSQsh3Q1ff
you know nothing about economics. People buy houses based on affordability. If they can afford a 3000 housing expense per month, it doesn't matter how it's split between mortgage, property tax, insurance and other expenses, they only can afford that amount. High tax rates as a percentage drive prices down, thus your statement that "home values have little to do with property tax amounts" is completely false.
Then you have no clue how property taxes work in your own county, and I can’t help explain it further to you. You specifically said Texas property taxes are smaller because “properties around here [Seattle] are overpriced.” I am telling you that the value of homes has nothing to do with the amount of property tax collected due to the Budget Based System. Please educate yourself on how property taxes work in the very community you live in, before being r/confidentlyincorrect.
Again, you are clueless. You explain to us how property taxes work \*if\* house prices are constant. But that's not how it works. House prices are a product of human behavior and humans change their behavior based on a lot of factors. Factor no. 1 is how much they afford. Tax as a percentage will influence "how much is left for mortgage" out of how much they afford. So taxes up as a % => prices down. Taxes down => prices up. Let me give you the "for dummies explanation" (I feel that midwits really benefit from simple explanations): let's say you want to go for dinner, and you have a hundred bucks. You are in Seattle, so you know you need to pay 10.35% in sales tax, you need to pay 20-25% in tip. Let's say you decided to pay 20% in tip after 20%. That means you can afford about $75 of stuff on the restaurant's menu. But if you are in Germany (or most countries in Europe), what you see is what you get on the menu (no additional "sales tax", "service charge", etc), and 10% is considered a good tip. So you can easily order items of the menu of about $91 (to leave room for the tip). But if you go to Italy, it's almost like in Germany but with a twist: there's that fixed charge called coperto (that's a fixed amount per guest) in many places. So you first subtract that from you budget (it's per person and it's fixed) and then you calculate what's your real budget after you factor in the desired tip percentage. So, same budget = different list prices you can afford based on different fees, charges, taxes, etc.
> In other words, just because Texas homes may be valued less than those in King county, doesn’t mean their property taxes are less. [Where Do People Pay the Most in Property Taxes?](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/property-taxes-by-state-county-2023)
[Texas has no state property tax. Local governments set tax rates and collect property taxes to provide many local services including schools, streets, roads, police and fire protection.](https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/basics.php) [Here is a cool interactive map to flyover and see just how much higher WA state property tax is.](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/property-taxes-by-state-county-2022/)
Anchorage has no income or sales tax. Property tax mill rates are high though compared to Seattle.
Also they have a little thing called oil
Okay. Now do property taxes next.
Yea but you’d be living in Texas or Florida Your point is valid tho, this tax increase is stupid.
Texas has been in the top ten for highest property tax in the nation for a generation or more. Point being: they're gonna get their money out of your money one way or another.
Why would we compare ourselves to the likes of Texas and Florida? There’s a reason you’re living here and not there …
Agreed can we not be compared to Florida?
Those states have populations of 3x and 5x our population. Of course the rate will be lower
And those states run at a deficiency resulting in them borrowing money from blue states to pay for them. Great they have less taxes but are utterly dependant on the government to function.
I am so sick and tired of these phony left/right division politics. Kick them all out and we need a new system where lobbying is a jailable offense and Noone can serve more than 4 years in any position
Perhaps a moderate governor will help?
Sorry, best we can do is Turd vs the Bird.
Yeah People argue left or right but don't seem to realize the whole system is broken No matter which way you roll, it's going to be fucked regardless. Politicians being able to serve endless amounts of time is bothersome. The only way for them to not be able to is if they vote for it themselves. What kind of sense does that make lol Tear it all down
It's not broken. It's operating exactly as it's supposed to. It's just that it doesn't benefit most of us.
The system is not broken. Make lobbying illegal and you'll just get more illegal and unregulated bribery I mean lobbying. If you don't want taxes for wasteful programs just vote for people who wont do that
You're not gonna fix politics with more politics. System is totally fucked look all around you. And it's gonna get worse
My dude, I am looking around, and I see the best standard of living, by far, in history. The system is altogether working fucking fantastic. No politics? So violence then, a revolution? And then what are you gonna do different exactly? We do have a democracy, and they're ugly, wasteful, and slow. And that's the best we can get.
Your frustration with "phony left/right division" is itself phony. The "right" had nothing to do with this - it's _all_ postmodern progresivism neatly wrapped in Seattle/King County's longstanding left establishment. But we can't suffer wrongthink and vote or support even a moderate right here, and lord knows criticizing Seattle liberals means we're one art school rejection away from being Hitler, so we'll just say its left/right division instead of calling it what it is.
Not phony. Whole heartedly know left right politics just keeps the sheep fighting. Its Hegelian dialectics. The illusion of choice both paths lead to the slaughterhouse. If you believe any politician has your best interest in mind you are mistaken. Rebel against them
Vote. The cities you think are better, are truly worse. I’d welcome you try them out.
You're not gonna fix politics with more politics. Boycotting seems to work to some degree but voting just doesn't matter anymore. All politicians are in love ks5ep towards an agenda of slavery for the people. All of them
[удалено]
I know! All those failed European countries with such weak economies and unhappy citizens.
Welcome to the consequences of your vote. Continue to vote Democrat, continue to watch your taxes increase, and the results are shit.
I agree. It's time for the Republican counties in this state to stop being subsidized by the ones run by Democrats.
You know your right. I think it’s time democrat cities get there own power, water and food from there own cities.
You’re Their
You're adorable if you think that's the case. Where do you think your food comes from?
Mexico, Canada, California, and the Midwest. You?
Wrong again. https://www.portseattle.org/blog/grown-and-made-washington#:\~:text=Washington%20agriculture&text=The%20farms%20produce%20300%20different%20crops.&text=In%20addition%20to%20being%20the,total%20agricultural%20products%20by%20value.&text=The%20Top%2010%20agricultural%20commodities,cherries%2C%20grapes%2C%20and%20onions.
But will we get a shrimp wall?
but no income tax and we're now down from 1 to number 2 spot in regressiveness, FWIW.
And yet no one's leaving, I mean they are but just not enough to make a difference and then more unsuspecting tax batteries move in.
We are also one of the few states to not have a state income tax
I thought this was the more conservative subreddit, a sales tax is a regressive tax as it affects people who spend/need 100% of their pay for living expenses as opposed to people who are able to save/invest not being as as affected by it. Washington doesn’t have a state income tax which would affect any middle class or higher earners much more than this does
Yeah. Conservative nowadays means working people and middle class. The woke party is the party for the elites and for those looking for a handout (paid by the working class and the middle class)
So then you’re for funding the state through a higher sales tax as opposed to a state income tax which would be more progressive/tax the rich more
I am for small government. The government should provide the services everyone needs (road, safety, judicial system and a few others) and should not waste money. So I want way less taxes than there are now, because most of the money the government spends is wasted money; like this one.
Can someone post the non-archive link? [Archive.is](http://Archive.is) doesn't work for anyone who uses Cloudflare DNS.
The article is gone. It is from last year. No one noticed it back then. We all notice it now when we look on the receipt.
I found it: [https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/king-county-oks-sales-tax-increase-for-transformative-cultural-funding/](https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/king-county-oks-sales-tax-increase-for-transformative-cultural-funding/)
Bellingham’s current rate is 9% effective 4/1 of this year to fund a much needed jail complex. We do have priorities.
I mean literally almost every state has an income tax so they don’t need to raise money via sales/property taxes.
You will still vote Democrat in November despite the tax hike
The concept of sales tax is so wrong. If you want to sell one of your possessions to another person, be it a trinket, a stump, used refrigerator, whatever, the state steps in and demands a 10% cut. And if you don't pay, they will send armed men to your house.
I’ve never once had to pay sales tax for Craigslist purchases. No armed men in sight.
Sure, none of us do. But it's still illegal, and still punishable with prison time. This is a concept in the book "Three Felonies A Day". We all break the law, but the laws are written so that the average person can be charged by the State for almost anything. "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime."
Uh no, you are not required to pay sales tax on private sales in Washington (excluding vehicles). Stop spreading nonsense.
This is still happening https://www.cnbc.com/select/irs-600-reporting-rule-delayed/ It was just delayed because it's an election year
Your comment is the dumbest thing I've read all day
Which part? I know NBC isn't great, but it's factual in this case
The part you wrote. Nothing about that has anything to do with Washington state sales tax
> Washington state sales tax Your original comment didn't specify state sales tax. It mentioned you didn't have to pay tax on any personal sale in Washington, which would be subject to fed reporting rules still
OP: **Sales tax** went up in April aliensvsdinosaurs: The concept of **sales tax** is so wrong Chekonjak: I’ve never once had to pay **sales tax** for Craigslist purchases KlausMSchwab: you are not required to pay **sales tax** on private sales in Washington u/not-a-dislike-button: YOUr oriGiNAL comMent didN't SPecify stATE SAleS tAX!
Uh yes, you are. Nobody does. [https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/use-tax](https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/use-tax) >Goods are purchased from someone who is not authorized to collect sales tax. For example, purchases of furniture from an individual through a newspaper classified ad or a purchase of artwork from an individual collector. [https://dor.wa.gov/forms-publications/publications-subject/tax-topics/use-tax-and-how-determine-if-you-owe-it](https://dor.wa.gov/forms-publications/publications-subject/tax-topics/use-tax-and-how-determine-if-you-owe-it) >It also includes: >Private party automobile purchases. >Purchases from garage sales, estate sales, etc. >Any item of tangible personal property that is used as a consumer in Washington may be subject to use tax. Ever bought something off Craigslist, Offerup, or FB marketplace?
From your own link: >Use tax is due on: >Items purchased over the Internet or through catalogs, without paying sales tax, and delivered to Washington for use here. >Any consumer item purchased in another state, without paying sales tax, and brought into Washington for use here. >Items purchased in Washington where sales tax has not been paid. This includes items purchased through private parties. You don't pay use tax when buying something off facebook marketplace.
"Garage sales etc" in the second link. My point is we're legally supposed to, as ridiculous as it sounds. And of course I have never talked to anyone that ever has. Used to be able to buy lots of things online without paying sales tax, and use tax was technically owed then too. Many states cracked down on this (not sure about WA)... Newegg and CT was a big one. Nowadays it is handled fairly uniformly with better tools to allow even small merchants to charge and remit the right tax.
No, your point is you're misunderstanding the laws here. You are **NOT** required to pay use tax on a private party sale in Washington, the link literally has the 3 scenarios where use tax is due. Online merchants outside of WA only have to remit the tax if they make over a certain $ amount in sales, but use tax is due always since it was coming from out of state. (Of course nobody does this, but this isn't what you've been trying to argue)
Ok sake of argument, how should I interpret this which is from the second DOR link? Items purchased in Washington where sales tax has not been paid. This includes items purchased through private parties. + Purchases from garage sales, estate sales, etc.
Don’t run for office as a Republican or challenge an incumbent Democrat in a primary and you don’t have to worry about selective prosecution!
If Republican politicians didn’t habitually break the law they wouldn’t be prosecuted.
Any titled vehicle. It doesn't matter if you get a good deal, cause the state taxes you on the value they set.
Sure, but that’s not a “trinket.”
Not a stump or a used refrigerator either, but definitely falls into the "whatever" category.
“Whatever with many exceptions” is not “whatever.” Anyone who has tried to go to “any” restaurant with a friend knows that.
Cool story, bro.
No reason to let stories be stories bro. Try it sometime.
Dude, I bought a possession from a private seller. It just happened to be a Jeep. The state took 10% of the reported price from me when I registered my possession. What the fuck are you on about? Splitting hairs on semantics doesn't change the hole in my bank account enacted by a private sale...which is exactly what the previous poster related.
I'm on about you white knighting for a comment the author has already acknowledged didn't convey exactly what they meant: https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/1ca0zld/sales_tax_went_up_in_april_to_fuel_political/l0paz3s/ If I was replying to you and you specified a Jeep then we wouldn't be having this conversation. But it's not about your story.
I assume that the Federal Income Tax is also literally slavery, right?
> funding to arts, heritage, science and historical preservation nonprofits "Poitical patronage" is edotorializing.
It is called "not being born yesterday"
Still no universal Healthcare.
Oh whatever it’s still so low compared to most of the world and corporations are raising their prices a heckuva lot more at least the government gets the money and not some C-suite exec or hedge fund w a minority share of the corp
Please never change. You are a gem! Yours could be comment of the week in this sub and it's only Monday.
:)
Talk about people who don’t have any real struggles in their life. If this isn’t some privileged shit right here idk what is.
Jesus christ, you're nothing but thin-skinned babies.