| Washington state has a growing population and growing economy – but it’s been hard to fund schools, roads and other basic services.These three charts help explain why.
First, unlike our neighbors to the east (Idaho) and south (Oregon), Washington doesn’t have an income tax, so our state relies more on the sales tax. Yet the economy has changed and moved away from the sales of physical goods. Back in the 1940s, goods made up more than 60 percent of the economy. Today, services are almost 70 percent of economic activity and physical goods are headed toward 30 percent. This is a lot like the trouble with funding transportation: Washington is a growing state, so you’d expect more people driving more miles means extra funds to fix highways and build bridges. However, gas revenues are actually headed south. Why? Because cars and trucks are getting much better gas mileage. Personal incomes in our state have continued upward, but…….
Also, taxes here are low compared to the rest of America. The total state and local tax burden has stayed below the U.S. average. The lines don’t cross even once.
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