With Washington state facing a projected budget shortfall of up to $16 billion over the next four years, would it behoove Olympia to pause the capital gains tax and nix its proposed wealth tax to woo wealthy Californians hit by the fires to relocate to Washington state?
In his final budget address on December 17, 2024, Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) for his proposed $70 billion 2025-2027 biennium state budget, presented a $13.7 billion 1% wealth tax and a $2.6 billion B&O Tax increase to address the looming state budget shortfall. This no doubt presents a high risk, if passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson (D), of monies and industry leaving Washington to more business-friendly states such as Texas and Florida.
With the fires in California wiping off the map whole cities in some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the United States, tens of thousands of people are now homeless, and it will take up to a decade to rebuild. Many of these fire victims are uninsured and are now going to be unemployed.
With more than 12,000 structures destroyed and an economic loss between $60-$135 billion, many homeowners and landowners will simply walk away. In the coming months the scale of the fires, 58 square miles, will pose mud slides and dust storms, not to mention the impact of millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide and hazardous material released in the air.
California has some of the highest taxes in the United States—a personal income tax up to 12.3%; a higher gas tax of 80-cents per gallon vs 50-cents in Washington; and higher average home prices—$3.5 million in Palisades, $3.2 million in Malibu, $790,742 in Eaton—compared to Clark, King, Pierce, Spokane, Snohomish, and Thurston counties ($450,000 to $860,000).
These California Fire Refugees would bring with them special skills, industry, and a lot of money to the Evergreen State. Washington would see a construction and infrastructure boom that would create thousands of jobs and bring in billions in capital to the state.
With California’s leaders failing hundreds of thousands of their residents, leaving tens of thousands displaced, perhaps the Evergreen state can be their new home.
Op-Ed DISCLAIMER: The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Lynnwood Times nor any of its affiliates.
Author: Mario Lotmore
