Washington’s Initiative I-884 Tax Hike

A look behind the Oz-worthy curtain hiding the truth about Initiative 884 (I-884) reveals that it is simply a $1 billion dollar tax hike. It will increase the sales tax by 15.4 percent to create more money for the state’s government to spend. It would make Washington’s sales tax the highest in the nation, and would cost the state about 10,000 jobs—retail being hit particularly hard as people begin shopping instead in sales tax-free Oregon and on the Internet.

Supporters of I-884 would have voters believe the tax hike would result in more educational spending in Washington, but that can not be guaranteed. Also, education spending and student performance in Washington is already above national average. They have told us what they’d like to spend the money on—raising salaries, among other things—but there are no specific outcomes defined or required in the initiative. We’re expected to just hand over $1 billion extra dollars and hope they spend it more wisely than the over $12.5 billion already dedicated to education.

It is unclear whether the $1 billion tax hike will improve education at all. The only thing that is clear with I-884 is that the people of Washington would see their disposable income drop by about $931 million each year for no guaranteed benefit.

Sixteen Things You Should Know About I-884 and Education Spending

1. I-884 would give Washington the highest state sales tax in the county

2. Combined state and local sales tax would hit 9.9% in some regions

3. Neighboring Oregon has no sales tax

4. I-884 would cost Washington about 10,000 jobs

5. I-884 would decrease disposable income in Washington by $931 million statewide

6. I-884 raises the sales tax by 15.4 percent

7. I-884 would disproportionately hit Washington’s poorest citizens

Those earning less than $20K would pay .8% more of their income in taxes

Those earning over $130K would pay .4% more of their income in taxes

8. Middle-income households making $40-$50Kwould pay $195 more in taxes

9. There is no way to guarantee the $1 billion in new taxes will be spent on education

10. Washington already spends $9,454 per K-12 student, 15th highest in the country

the average private school tuition in Washington is less than that

11. Inflation-adjusted education spending nearly doubled in WA from 1980 to 2000

during the same period the number of K-12 students increased by just 32%

and the number of higher education students increased by just 2.6%

12. School districts spent $9.2 billion in the 2002-03 school year

only 42.5% of that was spent on basic instruction (teaching)

13. WA ranks 4th in the nation in per capita spending on school building/maintenance

14. Average 2003-04 salary for public school central administrators in WA: $89,027

15. Washington student’s SAT scores were 36 points above national average in 2003

16. Nationally education spending has tripled since 1960, student achievement has not