OLYMPIA—Forty-four House Democrats are calling for a statewide referendum that asks voters to end sales-tax preferences for out-of-state shoppers in order to save mental-health services for Washingtonians.
Washington is the only state other than New Mexico that makes residents pay all of the sales taxes while nonresidents pay none.
“The crisis of untreated mental illness shows in the most painful way why we cannot afford to excuse nonresidents from paying the same sales taxes the rest of us pay,” said Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle), the author of the referendum proposed in House Bill 2087.
Lawmakers have slashed $85.6 million from mental health funding since 2009 because of the state budget crisis, shredding the safety net for persons with mental illness.
“These cuts to prevention, early intervention and diversion programs for people living with a mental illness are causing greater homelessness, use of emergency rooms, and an insupportable burden to the criminal justice system,” said Farrell Adrian, President of the Washington chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI WA).
“Our most vulnerable citizens are already suffering catastrophic consequences,” Adrian said. “NAMI Washington, a part of the largest mental health organization in the country, urges lawmakers to pass this bill.”
According to Dickerson, ending the sales-tax break for nonresidents would generate an estimated $83.7 million—enough to restore nearly all of the state mental health funding lost since 2009.
Mental health and other health care professionals have watched in dismay as state funding for mental health treatment and patient support has plummeted. Many see the proposal by Dickerson as the best way to curtail the damage and restore lost services.
Peter Sanderson, a mental health child and family therapist and member of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, said his organization strongly supports the Dickerson measure.
“We applaud Rep. Dickerson for her leadership in introducing this bill, and call on all of her colleagues to support it,” Sanderson said. “For too long we’ve seen the mental health crisis worsen in our communities as the state cuts funding, while leaving hundreds of tax breaks untouched. Our values are in the wrong place when we leave people on the streets in our own community, while protecting a sales tax exemption for out-of-state shoppers.”
“People with mental illness can get better and lead stable, productive lives. It’s the right kind of public investment in these difficult times,” Sanderson added. “Rep. Dickerson’s bill will save lives, keep families together, and build stronger, safer communities.”
Dickerson said she is aware that some businesses support the tax break for out-of-state shoppers.
“Unequal tax treatment is wrong even if some businesses like it,” Dickerson said. “The choice between essential mental-health treatment for state residents and preferential sales-tax treatment for non-residents is an easy one for me.”