I have a few comments regarding Andrew Villeneuve’s commentary in the June 9 Federal Way Mirror titled “Right wing vs. tax reform.” He states: “Our tax system is grossly unfair because our primary source of revenue is consumption taxes, which are inherently regressive because they don’t take into account ability to pay.” He then uses an example of two men, one employed and one unemployed that buy the same products at a hardware store, both paying the sales tax and then states that Initiative 1098, if approved by voters, would impose an income tax on high wage earners.
What he doesn’t say is that the sales tax will remain, so his example of the two men paying sales tax will continue. There also is nothing stopping future Legislatures from lowering the income level to tax all wage earners.
I also find it interesting that the coalition of “progressive public interest groups” led by William Gates Sr. is pushing I-1098. Mr. Gates spent his career as a tax attorney helping the wealthy find tax shelters. In fact, his son and daughter-in-law created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which though certainly admirable, is a way for Mr. and Mrs. Gates to avoid paying taxes.
Mr. Villeneuve mentions the 20 percent savings on real estate taxes that I-1098 would bring. This only covers the state’s portion, which is about 20 percent of the actual tax on real estate. The remaining 80 percent covers schools, county, city, port, fire, levies, etc. Thus the actual real estate savings is not on the entire tax bill, but on a relatively small portion of it. Again, there is nothing stopping future Legislatures from increasing it.
If an income tax is such a great deal, why do California and New York, which both have income and sales taxes, as well as real estate and various other taxes, have such huge budget deficits? Because the main problem is government spending. For every $1 raised in revenue, government has historically spent $1.50 to $2.
Finally, I would ask Mr. Villeneuve if the sales tax is so unfair, why are the “progressive interest groups?” in Washington, D.C., pushing for a national Value Added Tax (VAT)? This is a sales tax that is placed on every stage of a product’s development from its raw material state to the finished product shipped to stores for sale. Each stage of taxes would be passed on to the cost of the final product and all consumers would pay it, despite one’s “ability to pay.”
Tom Heunisch, Federal Way
