— from David Turnoy —
Two bills introduced in the WA House and Senate this year are worthy of your support and of an email to our representatives. We still don’t have a senator, but a week from now that should be resolved.
If you supported the carbon fee initiative last year, you will be glad to know that the legislature has a clean energy bill in the works: SB 5116/ HB 1211. Here is a summary from the Senate digest:
- Establishes the Washington clean energy transformation act. Addresses the elimination of coal-fired electricity and the transition of the state’s electricity supply to one hundred percent carbon neutral by 2030. Provides that it is the policy of the state that all retail sales of electricity to the state’s customers be greenhouse gas neutral by January 1, 2030. Requires the department of commerce to convene an energy and climate policy advisory committee to develop recommendations to the legislature for the coordination of existing resources, or the establishment of new ones, to: (1) Examine the costs and benefits of energy-related policies, programs, functions, activities, and incentives; and (2) Conduct other energy-related studies and analyses as may be directed by the legislature. Requires the department of health to conduct a cumulative impact analysis to designate the communities highly impacted by fossil fuel pollution and climate change.
The second bill worthy of your support is a bill to start to reform our regressive tax system by instituting a capital gains tax. This is SB 5314 / HB 1172. The bill would provide property tax relief in exchange for a tax on capital gains.
Please contact your legislators and tell them you support these bills:
- Rep. Debra Lekanoff debra.lekanoff@leg.wa.gov
- Rep. Jeff Morris jeff.morris@leg.wa.gov
Thank you!
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
I have questions about the fairness of this new capital gains tax (SB 5314/HB 1172) to retired seniors who spent their working lives as independent contractors, self-employed, or otherwise have saved and invested their own money because of having no pension, and now count on some income from long term investments beyond IRAs to supplement very low social security income.
I read through the bill and didn’t see any provision to protect these low income, retired seniors, especially those who rent, not own, their homes.
Given that so many I interact with on Orcas are seniors or will soon be, and I see lots of people needing care they can’t afford, and most have had to be very creative with how they’ve earned a living and planned for old age, I think we should be very careful and thoughtful so that seniors living close to the edge–especially those without the protective umbrella of family–don’t have what they were counting on for survival removed by new taxes.
I think this bill needs modification so that everyone gets to keep at least a minimum of income to live on from all sources they have.
Ah, yes: Another tax to “reform our regressive tax system.”
Rather than extort from us with yet another artificial taxation construction, which nets us rate-payers neither goods nor services, I’d prefer to see the legislature curtail its wild and poorly-aimed spending.
Don’t we need a whole fleet of new ferries? Will this proposed new tax deliver them?
No. Of course not.