Washington State Fact #12: I-884 Will Cost 10,000 Jobs

The billion dollar I-884 tax hike would have a devastating effect on Washington’s retail economy. The 15.4 percent increase in the sales tax rate would give the Evergreen State the highest state sales tax in the nation, driving businesses and shoppers out of the state. The result: Washington would lose 10,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the Washington Policy Center.

Part of this job loss will occur from shoppers avoiding the onerous sales tax of nearly 10 percent in some areas, opting instead to shop in sales-tax free Oregon or on the Internet. And other businesses will fail because the average consumer in Washington will have $115 taken out of his or her pocket by the new tax. That’s less money for local purchases and local businesses. With an unemployment rate at 6.2 percent—well above the national average—Washington cannot afford to lose jobs due to this tax increase.

Furthermore, much of the job loss will occur in the retail sector, hitting lower-income workers and their families hardest. And lower income citizens will carry a disproportionate part of the burden of these new taxes, because the sales tax is inherently regressive.

Washington’s economy needs faster growth and more jobs, but the I-884 tax hike will cost jobs and growth.

For more information, please visit http://www.freedomworks.org/washington