When readers ask for charts, I can’t refuse! So, as an accompaniment to my previous analysis of income taxes in Washington’s “neighbor” states, here’s a more thorough examination.
I’ve calculated the tax burden—for both single and joint filers—under Initiative 1098 in Washington along with the state’s four nearest neighbors. I used annual income in half million dollar increments up to $2 million. Have a look.
The upshot is pretty clear, I think. You’d have to be netting simply stratospheric levels of income for 1098 to impose anything comparable to the tax liability in Washington’s neighbors. Even at $2 million per year, a two person household in Washington would be paying substantially less than anywhere else on the West Coast or in the Northwest.
Of course, if you want to know how much you might pay—or save if you’re among the 97 percent of state residents who would see a tax cut—then you should check out the 1098 tax calculator developed by Economic Opportunity Institute.
Over the next week or so, I’ll be churning out a few more comparison charts like this for Washington’s peer states.
The request line is open.
Notes: Figures in the chart are calculated by me based on data from the Tax Foundation. There is one methodological weakness: my analysis excludes personal exemptions and both itemized and standard deductions, which has the effect of slightly over-stating the tax burdens in states other than Washington. There are several reasons I chose to overlook these factors, but chiefly because it’s difficult to provide apples-to-apples comparisons between the various ways that states treat deductions, exemptions, credits, and so on. That said, it doesn’t much matter when comparing taxes at this high level of income. Without exception the deductions, exemptions, etc. are small enough that the result would not show up as much more than a rounding error here.
JJJPL
Luckily, those states don’t have our special B tax which takes 0.5% off the top.Since it takes, on average, $14 of revenue to create $1 of income for a business owner, make sure to add that extra $70,000 of tax per $1 million of income.Of course the other conclusion from the charts is that 1098 leaves plenty of room for the legislature to lower the income cutoffs to $100,000 or $50,000 in two years.
Kirk Richards
As you make clear, 1098 would at a minimum remove the competitive advantage that Washington has enjoyed to date in attracting wealth and business. Do you think businesses move here because of the weather?
civiletti
One thing is clear: Oregon is “pro-marriage”.
MicheLynne
Washington seems to also favor marriage. Looks like Montana might have the better, more fair and consistent idea though.