Washington Again Rated Worst For Tax System If You're Poor

SEATTLE, WA - Washington has, again, been rated the worst state in the U.S. to pay taxes if you're a poor person.

The finance site WalletHub calculated that low-income earners in Washington pay 14.59 percent of their income in taxes each year. The rich in Washington pay just 7.32 percent, which is 13th best in the U.S.

Washington's tax system, which relies on sales and income taxes, has been called out as the most regressive in the U.S. for years. And WalletHub's figures might be too conservative. According to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Washington households that earn $24,000 or less per year pay almost 18 percent of their income in taxes.

The top 1 percent, households that earn $549,000 or higher per year, pay just 3 percent of their income in taxes.

"Washington has the most unfair state and local tax system in the country. Incomes are more unequal in Washington after state and local taxes are collected than before," ITEP wrote in its most recent assessment of tax rates across the U.S.

It's not just poor people who suffer. According to WalletHub, middle-income earners in Washington pay 11.26 percent of their income in taxes. That's among the top five worst in the nation outside of New York, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

What can even out our tax regressive tax system? One idea is a statewide income tax, something that has met strong legal and political opposition.

In July 2017, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a city income tax. The effort was less about the tax, more about getting a state Supreme Court ruling that would legalize income taxes in the state. Seattle has been sued over the measure, and the issue is in front of the state Court of Appeals.