H-0464.3
HOUSE BILL 1569
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Pollet, Santos, Wylie, Fey, Thai, Goodman, Walen, Farivar, Doglio, Macri, Tharinger, Taylor, Bergquist, Kloba, Reeves, Hackney, Bernbaum, Scott, Nance, Peterson, Lekanoff, Berry, Gregerson, Parshley, Cortes, Ramel, Obras, Simmons, Ormsby, Salahuddin, and Reed
Read first time 01/24/25. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
AN ACT Relating to increasing tax exemption transparency and accountability; amending RCW 43.06.400 , 43.88.030 , 43.88.055 , 43.136.045 , 43.136.055 , 43.136.065 , and 82.33.060 ; adding new sections to chapter 43.88 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.32 RCW; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) Hundreds of tax exemptions and special tax preferences have been granted to special interests by the legislature without requiring assessment of whether those exemptions and preferences would create jobs or result in increased economic activity that increases state revenues. These exemptions and preferences result in the entire tax system being less fair for people who do not have special exemptions and preferences and increase the taxes on all other taxpayers in order to fund education and other state services.
(2) Tax exemptions reduce revenues collected from the tax base and provide preferential treatment to some at the expense of those not getting a tax exemption. Almost as much money as is collected in tax revenues is not collected and is given out as tax exemptions. While every expenditure of revenue must be authorized and appropriated in the state budget approved by the legislature, the massive amounts of funding for these tax preferences and exemptions continue without any readoption by the legislature in each budget. These exemptions and preferences are, therefore, tax expenditures, most of which continue without any legislative action year after year while the state seeks other funding to meet constitutional duties to fund education and other services and obligations.