By Cindy Alia 3/26/25
If you have a home, you may not soon if the Washington State legislative majority party has their way.
If you do not yet own a home, the Washington State legislative majority party will make it much more difficult for you to save to have a home.
Proposed Taxes (March 26, 2025)
Washington State proposes $5B-$8B in new taxes:
- Fuel: +6¢ (Senate) or +9¢ (House)/gallon, indexed; $250M-$300M/year.
- House Bills: Capital gains (7%), wealth (0.8%), property cap (1% to 3%), B&O surcharge, fees; $3B-$5B/year.
- Senate: 1% intangibles, payroll tax; $1.7B/year.
Inflation Drivers
- Fuel tax adds 1.4-2.1% to gas ($4.19/gallon), 0.02-0.03% to CPI.
- 2% indexing adds 0.01-0.02%/year.
- Business costs raise goods prices (0.1-0.2% CPI).
Tax Burden
- Current: 7.5% of $725B GDP ($54B total).
- New: 8.3%-8.5% ($60.5B), nearing 9% with indexing.
Affordability
- Adds $200-$500/year per household.
- Median $80K earner’s savings drop from $6K to $5.5K; $120K down payment takes 21-22 years vs. 20.
- Lower earners ($40K) lose 15-25% of $2K savings.
- High home costs ($593K) get harder to reach.
Conclusion New taxes raise Washington’s burden from 7.5% to 8.3%-8.5% of GDP, drive slight inflation (0.1-0.2%), and cut savings, stretching homeownership timelines by months to years
March 27, 2025