Tag Archives: taxes

Tax Town Halls

I would like to invite you to share your thoughts at an upcoming Tax Town Hall. There will be discussion on changing the state’s tax structure to make it “more equitable.” There are various options being considered to change the tax code. One such option is to lower the sales tax or property taxes by increasing taxes on “those that can afford to pay more.”

Unfortunately, “those that can afford to pay more” can also move and take their tax dollars with them. When New Jersey increased their income tax rate, one taxpayer moved in 2015 and took his billions of dollars with him. This caused a budget shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars. Income tax revenue is one of the most unstable revenue streams states can use for budgeting.

Another proposal would tax stock transfers and exempt retirement accounts. Connecticut has tried this. They received a windfall the first year, but saw a massive deficit the following year, counting on the new revenue. People simply stopped doing taxable transfers.

There is a bright spot. Deducting $250,000 from your property values to give some property tax relief.

Beware of the government that says they will tax the “other guy” and pass the savings on to you.

I am supposed to just listen during these town halls, and not offer my opinion. I would ask you to participate and voice yours.

 

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

2:30 – 4 p.m. Sign up here | 6:30 – 8 p.m. Sign up here

Learn more at: https://taxworkgroup.org/

The end of the 2021 Legislative Session

Greetings Friends,

The Legislature adjourned Sunday evening on time. It was a 105-day whirlwind of bad bills and misplaced spending priorities for working families in Washington. Leading up the start of 2021 there was expected to be a $6 billion shortfall because of the economic effects of COVID. Not only did the shortfall never materialize, there was a surplus, in addition to federal stimulus relief funds. Did we reduce taxes to give working families a break? No.

The final budget that was adopted increases state spending by over 12% from the previous budget. I encouraged my Republican colleagues to develop our own budget to show we can fund mental health and other valuable safety-net services for vulnerable families. That budget funded the same critical investments without the billions in new taxes. In addition, it fundamentally changed how the state invests in transportation by using the existing sales tax on motor vehicles, resulting in $24 billion for infrastructure needs over the next 16 years. The opposition to the high tax and spend budget was bipartisan. The bill passed by one vote with no Republican support.

I voted against this budget which relies on another attempt to implement an unconstitutional income tax, higher fuel taxes and a convoluted cap and tax carbon pricing scheme. The people have continually voted against an income tax and a carbon tax, yet the majority party relies on those taxes to increase spending in a year when we were unexpectedly flush with tax dollars. All these policies in effect are taking food off your family’s table for special interests in Olympia.

The Lieutenant Governor sent out an adjournment press release Sunday night. In it he made the statement, “The past 105 days will shape Washington for years to come…” Boy, is he right. Washingtonians can look forward to rising costs of fuel and everything else they purchase. Increased taxes for their cell phones, new home purchases and a new income tax “on the rich.”

It started out as a billionaire tax, then multimillionaires, then millionaires. It will soon be a tax on thousandaires, aka working families.

Here is a comparison to the budget that the Senate Republican Caucus proposed and the final budget. It is a clear and stark contrast in priorities.

Throughout the session, I made principled stands and did everything I could to slow down the process and speak up for your rights. Whether it was religious freedom, your Second Amendment rights or reining in the governor’s emergency powers. I’m proud to have help found the Senate Freedom Caucus, which put an even stronger emphasis on policies eroding your personal liberties.

I will be holding a virtual town hall on May 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to discuss the 2021 legislative session and answer any questions. Please register in advance for this event by clicking here.

Cap and Tax

I believe we can and should do all we can do be good stewards of our environment. For my day job, I’m a leading water quality compliance expert in our state. I know firsthand the effects humans have on our environment and the unreasonable regulations imposed on regular people that government can’t even achieve and do little for the environment while driving up costs.

PollutionThe latest policy is a proposal, Senate Bill 5126, to cap carbon, price it, and sell it. When this bill first came to the Senate floor, I called it a crony capitalism shell game. You’ll be paying more for fuel and consumer goods while businesses will have to pay millions to “buy” credits, adding those costs to you, the consumer, without improving the environment. That’s not a genuine approach to protecting our environment. It’s really a way to take more money from “Main Street” and give it to Olympia special interests that stand to make millions by taking from your paychecks.

As your state Senator, I’m fighting for accountability for programs like this. If we are going to take hundreds of dollars out of your household budget to “protect the environment,” I have to be sure those goals will be achieved. Coming out of a pandemic and the related economic harm, now is not the time to be implementing costly and regressive taxes on the people of Washington.

You can watch my floor speech on it here. 

The ‘Galloping Gerties’

Awards ceremony honors ‘epic fails’ of 2021 legislative session

The new income tax passed by majority Democrats in the Washington Legislature earned top honors in the first annual Galloping Gertie Awards, presented by the Senate Freedom Caucus to honor the biggest fails of the 2021 legislative session.

The awards are named for “Galloping Gertie,” the famed state-highway bridge that briefly crossed the Tacoma Narrows before it collapsed in a 1940 windstorm. A recording of the Wednesday awards ceremony can be seen on TVW, by clicking here. 

Great bill titles, bad policy

Overall, there were so many bills that just ate away at your individual freedom by growing government and taking your tax dollars to pay for it. One big example is the recently passed childcare legislation, the Fair Start for Kids Act. While well intended to give parents some needed support, the fact is that it grows a bloated bureaucracy to subsidize childcare paid for with a new income tax. Why not just allow you to keep more of your money to pay for these necessities the way you want to? Instead, we have a one-size-fits-all approach that requires taxes and regulations that only make the end product more expensive and inefficient. To pay for all these supposedly great things, state government has increased the individual tax burden by 67 percent over the past four budget cycles to $7,732. That is not sustainable.

Religious Freedom

It is my honor to sponsor local religious leaders in my district to provide the opening prayer during the legislative session at the start of our day’s proceedings. We hit a roadblock when the Lieutenant Governor’s Office rejected prayers because they mentioned Jesus’ name. As it turned out, the Lt. Gov himself was unaware of this practice. I am pleased that a local pastor in our district pushed back and brought this to my attention. You can see his letter and the various opening prayers from those in our district by clicking here.

Truth in government bill seeks to change state agency name

Taxpayer advocate and state Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, has introduced truth-in-government legislation that accurately portrays the work of a state agency.

Senate Bill 5925 would change the name of the state Department of Revenue to the Department of Taxation. The simple name change required an over-500-page bill.

“I was at a conference and learned that Hawaii is doing it right,” said Fortunato. “They have what’s called the Department of Taxation. I think we need more truth in government, so I sponsored this legislation to make it clearer to people what our state agency does.”

According to its mission statement, the state Department of Revenue seeks “to fairly and efficiently collect revenues and administer programs to fund public services and advocate sound tax policy.”

“The reality is that this state agency doesn’t generate revenue,” Fortunato said. “Revenue is what businesses and people generate from the sale of goods and services. This is a tax collection agency and their name should reflect that.”

The measure was referred to State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections committee.

Legislative Update

May 11, 2018

townhallGreetings Friends and Neighbors,

This will be the last e-news update you’ll receive regarding my legislative duties due to election-year restrictions. Our state works hard to ensure fair and transparent elections and as such, we maintain stringent rules on the use of public resources during election years. Legislators who are up for re-election in 2018, including me, must follow specific rules and laws concerning our written communications with you.

We have had great conversations with constituents at the numerous events around the district. I want to thank everyone who has attended and lent their insights, shared their concerns, and helped me hold our state government accountable. I will be holding one final meeting this Saturday, May 12, at the Edgewood City Hall from 4-5:30 p.m. I hope you’ll join me for an informal conversation about what your state government should be doing.

There is a lot to reflect on from the 2018 legislative session. I’ve said before, too many in Olympia just can’t do anything simple. In reality, we can do the most good for our citizens by getting government out of the way! Here’s a prime example: The current majority introduces bills with ridiculous titles to “help” people.

“Concerning investing in Washington families by improving the fairness of the state’s excise tax system by narrowing or eliminating tax preferences, imposing a business and occupation tax surcharge while eliminating tax liability for small businesses, enacting an excise tax on capital gains, modifying the real estate excise tax, making administrative changes, and implementing marketplace fairness in Washington.”

In essence, they want to raise your taxes, or create new ones, to give you a small amount of relief on other taxes. This is the kind of nonsense I’m working to stop.

It is an honor serving as your state Senator. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any concerns you have about your state government. I look forward to seeing you all around the district.

Sincerely,

Fortunato Signature

Phil Fortunato,

Your 31st District State Senator

Contact Me:

Mail: PO Box 40431 Olympia, WA 98504

Olympia Office: 201 Irv Newhouse Building Olympia, WA 98504

Phone: (360) 786-7660

Email: Phil.Fortunato@leg.wa.gov

www.SenatorPhilFortunato.com

STAY CONNECTED!

Due to election year restrictions, I will be limited in how I can communicate with you about what is going on in Olympia. Please be sure to subscribe to my newsletter if you already haven’t. You can also unsubscribe at anytime by clicking here. Feel free to share this with others that live in our district.

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Committee assignments

During the 2018 legislative session, I am serving on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee and the Senate’s Transportation Committee.

Government guide

We have updated the 31st Legislative District government guide to make it easy for you to contact your federal, state and local officials. It’s a one-stop tool that gives you the phone numbers, emails and information you need for everything from schools and senior centers to members of Congress and the President.
You can access the online version of the guide anytime by clicking here or you can call my office for a physical copy while supplies last.

Connect with me on Facebook!

Please follow me @SenatorPhilFortunato to receive updates on my work here in Olympia. Invite others in our district to follow and like my new page!

Taxpayers deserve property tax relief now, says Fortunato

 

In a news conference Wednesday, Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, expressed his desire to return taxpayer money in the form of relief from the Democratic property tax increases as part of the state’s biennial budget that was adopted in 2017. Fortunato spoke in support of Senate Bill 6439, which seeks to reduce property taxes for 2018 and 2019.

“Hard-working taxpayers gave us their tax dollars last year to implement a budget and pass their laws,” said Fortunato. “We constantly see the tax-and-spenders wanting to do nice things for people when we have surplus tax dollars, like we do now. We should give them back their own money and let them do something nice for themselves.”

The legislation fixes the budget compromise adopted last year that fully funded education statewide but resulted in a property tax “blip” during a transition to the new education funding plan.

“The opposition insisted on extending the overreliance on local levies to fund education into 2018 as part of the implementation of the education plan,” said Fortunato. “That is why property owners are getting sticker shock with their bills. We have the money now and should return it to the taxpayers so they can get some relief.”

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Watch your wallet – Democrats take control

November 30, 2017

STAY CONNECTED!

Due to election year restrictions, I will be limited in how I can communicate with you about what is going on in Olympia. Please be sure to subscribe to my newsletter if you already haven’t. You can also unsubscribe at anytime by clicking here. Feel free to share this with others that live in our district.

Friends,

What do you think will happen in 2018? I don’t have a crystal ball, but if previous legislative sessions are any indication, Washington taxpayers should be on alert. I tried this year to amend our state’s Constitution to explicitly prohibit an income tax, the kind of money-grab Seattle is fighting for in the courts. While it did receive bipartisan support, it didn’t receive the required two-thirds approval to move on in the legislative process. Without a check on power like we’ve had with our bipartisan Majority Coalition controlling the Senate, liberal Democrats will have free reign to implement their agenda of growing state government. This coming legislative session more than ever, I am committed to protecting your wallets and defending our Second Amendment rights.

How Much is Enough?

The Senate-led effort to reform our state’s education system resulted in the biggest investment in public education in our state’s history. The budget we approved in June increased state spending on schools by nearly $4 billion this budget cycle alone. Now, half of the entire state budget is spent on education. I was hopeful that would satisfy our obligation to amply fund schools.

The state Supreme Court issued its ruling on the final stage of the McCleary case finding that we have fully funded basic education, but they aren’t happy with the timeline. It appears they want to add an additional $1 billion dollars earlier.

The Court has ordered the Legislature to report on how we are complying with their decision by April 2018. This could be a significant issue in the upcoming legislative session and another excuse for some progressives to sound the alarm on new taxes.

In my opinion, the Court is overstepping their authority. They are usurping legislative powers to appropriate state resources and legislating from the bench in an effort to reach into your wallets. That is not their job. You elect me and other legislators to make those spending decisions. This is a thinly veiled attempt to find another way to implement an income tax, or as it is known in Olympia, an excise tax on your income.

Concealed No More

I am keeping a close eye on the privacy of concealed carriers in our state. The Department of Licensing recently asked the state Attorney General, no friend of the Second Amendment, if they can disclose personal information of concealed carry license holders. You can read the letter DOL sent by clicking here. If the AG is determined to release information of law abiding citizens, then I think it would be appropriate for the public to have his personal information.

In another affront to rights of gun owners, the Lt. Governor recently banned firearms, even licensed concealed carry, in the Senate Gallery. He may think he isn’t infringing on your Second Amendment rights, but restricting where you can carry accomplishes the same thing. I issued an immediate response to this decision. You can read my press release and letter by clicking here.

It’s an honor to serve as your state Senator. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns about your state government.

Sincerely,

Fortunato Signature

Phil Fortunato,

Your 31st District State Senator

Contact Me:

Mail: PO Box 40431 Olympia, WA 98504

Olympia Office: 201 Irv Newhouse Building Olympia, WA 98504

Phone: (360) 786-7660

Email: Phil.Fortunato@leg.wa.gov

www.SenatorPhilFortunato.com

Committee Assignments

Committee

In the 2018 legislative session, I will serve on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee and the Senate’s Transportation Committee. This past year I fought for taxpayer relief from what I believe were deceptive practices on Sound Transit’s part. I want greater citizen oversight and accountability for that organization and the ability for local jurisdictions to be able to opt out of their taxing scheme.

Share Your Thoughts

survey

I want to hear from you. Please take a moment and fill out my brief survey on the 2018 legislative session. Your priorities are important to me and as your state Senator, I will be working hard for you.

Click the image or share your thoughts by clicking here.

Government Guide

We have updated the 31st Legislative District government guide to make it easy for you to contact your federal, state and local officials. It’s a one-stop tool that gives you the phone numbers, emails and information you need for everything from schools and senior centers to members of Congress and the President.
You can access the online version of the guide anytime by clicking here or you can call my office for a physical copy while supplies last.

Did you know?

Data

During our recent meetings in Olympia, one of the committees of which I am a member held a work session on cyber security. In light of recent high profile data breaches, it is important that consumers are aware of their options to protect themselves and their credit. We heard from experts that consumers can place fraud alerts on their profiles that require lending institutions take additional steps to ensure authenticity of an application. They can also place freezes on their credit if concerned about identity theft.

You can watch the hearing by clicking here.

 

House, Inslee offer “death sentence for rural Washington,” Fortunato says

Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, issued the following statement in response to the news that the House has refused a permanent Hirst fix:

House Democrats are being led by Seattle special interests that think that city water magically appears out of pipes in the wall but rural water taken from wells is a threat to the environment.  Newsflash to urban dwellers—your water comes from rural areas.  The differences are that no court suddenly decided you need to pay $20,000-$30,000 to hook up to city water and unlike the majority of well-water, the city water you use doesn’t return to the aquifer from which it came.

Neither the House nor the governor showed any real interest in solving the Hirst issue.  In late April, our absentee governor admitted to no real understanding of the Hirst fix. Ironically, the governor that constantly warns of global warming causing drought is aiding the court-ordered manufacturing of a water shortage. The House has been moving the goalposts up to their pre-planned press conference where they shed crocodile tears at not getting a Hirst fix they never wanted.

The governor displays a total lack of understanding of how lending works. Who in their right mind thinks that lenders will want to loan money on a property that could have water rights revoked in 24 months?  House Democrats holding a two-year delay up as a solution are fooling themselves and selling out rural Washington.  Unless they are willing to open up a bank to loan money on these properties, I would not call their plan a fix but a complete, predestined, purposeful failure.

Failing to fix Hirst means lower property values which means lower revenues for state and local services that House Democrats claimed to champion.  But when push came to shove, they chose their special interests groups over the working men and women in the rural areas of Washington. This means up to a $200 million property tax shortfall over 4 years with the devalued properties hurting schools and local economies—and no, a bottled water tax is not going to make up the difference.

To open this session, Inslee commuted death sentences for murderers and rapists. To close the session, he is ushering in a death sentence for rural Washington. It’s a shameful slap in the face to those of us living outside urban centers.

Fortunato calls on Sound Transit to halt $10 million giveaway

Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, is calling on Sound Transit’s governing board to reverse a decision made last week to transfer millions of dollars of property over to non-profits at a financial loss. Sound Transit plans to transfer property valued at $18.5 million for a third or half of its market value in order to provide affordable housing sites in Seattle.

“Suddenly, the agency that claims every dime is essential for transit projects and can’t cut car tabs by a single penny, can afford to give away $10 million,” Fortunato said. “Sound Transit is taking millions from the budgets of families with school age children and seniors in the name of ‘congestion relief,’ so that it can turn around and give those millions away to something that has nothing to do with transit.

“This is pure bureaucratic arrogance. Tell voters it is all for congestion relief, then do whatever you want and give voters’ money to housing in Seattle. Every board member voting for this should be fired.”

Sound Transit made the decision in Resolution 2017-20 on May 25. It allows for a surplus parcel known as the “Roosevelt Station – Central Transit-Oriented Development Site” to be sold a steep discount for the purpose of affordable housing. In a letter (linked below) to Sound Transit Chief Executive Peter Rogoff, Fortunato questions the legality of the move based on stipulations in the federal grant and whether property seized through eminent domain for transportation purposes can be given away at a discount for unrelated purposes.

“This is social engineering insanity,” said Fortunato. “If Sound Transit thought people were mad about car tabs tripling before, wait until the people hear about this. This agency is absolutely tone deaf to the people they serve—or in the case of my district, the people they do not serve but just extract taxes from.”

Sound Transit.Rogoff Letter

Fortunato hails Senate move to cut Sound Transit car tab tax

Car tab taxes would be cut by 55 percent and Sound Transit board members would be required to stand for direct elections under legislation that passed the Senate Tuesday afternoon.  Senator Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, is a cosponsor of both bills, SB 5001 and SB 5893

“If Seattle politicians think their constituents are mad about car tabs tripling, they should visit my district where we voted no on Sound Transit 3 by more than 60 percent,” said Fortunato. “Cutting car tabs by 55 percent only costs Sound Transit 4 billion dollars over 30 years, but you’d think from how they’re complaining we’re asking for their first born.”

Both bills now go to the House for consideration.  SB 5893 was amended from its previous version to structure the car tab tax cuts as rebates to eliminate the estimated expense of defeasing bonds.   The new tax cut mechanism reduces the estimated loss of revenue to Sound Transit from approximately $12 billion to just under $4 billion.

“This might reduce the scope of the next party they hold for being a decade late and eighty percent over budget, but taxpayers will feel real relief,” said Fortunato. “All we need now is for the House Democrat leadership to stop protecting Sound Transit and start protecting the taxpayers.