Sumayyah Waheed, the director of All In for Washington at the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, and I joined Rep. Jayapal to answer questions about the tax legislation from local constituents.
All three of us emphasized the danger that the trillions of dollars in proposed GOP tax giveaways for the top 1% and big corporations will strengthen the hands of forces in the capital who want to slash spending on services that working families depend on.
And as Waheed explained, these cuts will have a devastating effect at the state level. Federal resources make up one-third of Washington state’s budget, including funds for health care, schools, transit, and food assistance.
Among numerous goodies for the ultra-rich, the Republican plan would repeal the federal estate tax on estates worth more than $5.5 million (or $10.9 million for couples). Only about 90 wealthy families in Washington state would be subject to the tax next year. And yet if this tax is eliminated, the lost revenue would amount to a sum that could cover nutrition benefits for over 200,000 people.
“That’s the kind of obscenity that they are proposing,” Waheed said.
