We’re finally turning the tables on investment bankers and Wall Street fat cats.
State Rep. Laurie Jinkins has introduced a bill that would make Wall Street speculators and the super-wealthy pay their fair share in Washington. Her legislation would create a 5 percent tax on profits of more than $10,000 from the sale of stocks and second houses (you can read the full bill here).
A tax on profits made from stocks and other capital gains is a long-term reform that would put us on track for a sustainable budget. It would only apply to the wealthiest 3 percent of Washingtonians and would raise $500 million or more each year for education, health care, and essential public services.
This tax on stock profits wouldn’t affect retirement savings accounts, the sale of farmland, charitable giving, or assets left to family members as part of a will. To read more about the capital gains tax and the positive impact it would have on our communities, read the report put together by the Washington State Budget & Policy Center.
Taxing profits on stocks and other capital gains is an important, progressive reform that will help create a sustainable budget. This is our best shot in 2012 to reform our state’s backwards tax system and put our state on a path to long-term prosperity. But it’s going to take all of us working together to overcome their high-priced lobbyists and big campaign contributions.
Rep. Jinkins’ proposal would be a huge step toward fixing our tax system that unfairly benefits millionaires and investment bankers. Washington is one of only eight states that does not tax capital gains – part of the reason our tax system is so regressive. Oregon has an 11 percent capital gains tax, and even Idaho taxes capital gains at 7.8 percent.
We have a chance to make everyone pay their fair share. This kind of tax reform will help ensure that cuts to health care, education and vital social service programs that our communities rely on are not on the chopping block each budget cycle. Our state desperately needs sustainable revenue and the capital gains tax is a way to get us there.
