Washington State Income Tax Developments

The Freedom Foundation has filed lawsuit against the Washington State Capital Gains Tax the legislature enacted last May.  We all know that a capital gains tax is only prelude to a general income tax on all citizens.  All we citizens need is another tax... .

The state rulers attempted to dismiss the lawsuit based on the argument that our defendants would not know for a fact if they would have to pay the tax, since the new law doesn't go into effect till 2023 (the " citizens are too dumb" argument). 

The Judge didn't agree with the state and supported the Freedom Foundation's argument that we the people have standing (a technical term meaning "a right to make legal claims").

The case will proceed!

In addition to this the judge decided not to move case to Thurston County and it will be heard in Douglas County, a county that will give us citizens a better chance of winning.

Save our state from income tax!

Donate to the Freedom Foundation to stop the capital gains tax

https://www.freedomfoundation.com/donate/

Participate in Redistricting

Every 10 years the state's Redistricting Commission is charged with redrawing the shapes of Congressional and Legislative districts based on changes in population. All the districts are supposed to be similar in population. One of the changes being considered is cutting off parts of our district that are South of Hwy-410 and eliminating Sumner.  This would split most of the cities along 410 in half.

If you feel it is as important as I do to maintain the Hwy-410 corridor in one district, consider participating in the process. There is still time to let your voice be heard.

Here are some things to consider:

• It is important to maintain the continuity of all the cities in the 31st District along the Hwy-410 corridor and the Chinook Scenic Byway as the gateway to Mount Rainier.
• Many businesses rely on the important tourist trade, and splitting the corridor in multiple districts will make coordination of WSDOT and Capital Budget projects more difficult.

Phil Fortunato

Leave your comments here: https://www.redistricting.wa.gov/participate/describe

The challenge to the unconstitutional state income tax progresses

The Freedom Foundation brought suit last week to end the constitutionally illegal state income tax the WA State legislature enacted last session.

Douglas County Superior Court heard the first round of arguments in the Freedom Foundation’s lawsuit challenging the controversial capital gains income tax narrowly adopted by the democrat legislature in April.

Gov. Inslee, who claimed on the campaign trail in 2012 that he would “veto anything that heads in the wrong direction, and the wrong direction is new taxes in the state of Washington,” signed the bill in May, stating at the signing ceremony that, “This could be the pinnacle of the greatest joy of the bills that I’ve signed as governor.”

Going into the hearing, Judge Brian Huber had five issues before him, two of which were decided at the hearing and three of which will be addressed at a later time.  

First, Huber decided to consolidate the lawsuit against SB 5096 filed jointly on April 28 by the Freedom Foundation and attorneys from Lane Powell PC on behalf of 10 Washington residents with a second challenge filed by the Opportunity for All Coalition (OFAC) on May 20. Going forward, the two cases will now be treated as one, as both Freedom Foundation and OFAC had requested.

Second, the judge granted a request by a group of farmers to file an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs contending the tax is unconstitutional.

Third, a group of additional interests — consisting of the Washington Education Association (the statewide teachers union, which has been seeking to impose an income tax on Washingtonians for almost 90 years), the Edmonds School District, a parent of a public school student, a public school teacher and a child care provider — petitioned the court to be allowed to intervene in the proceedings as parties defending the tax alongside Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office.

The parties contend they will receive some of the money collected from other taxpayers and therefore have an interest in defending the law, while the Freedom Foundation argued they do not meet the standards to be admitted as parties and could instead be permitted to file an amicus brief.

Huber indicated he would accept additional written arguments on the question from both sides and issue a written decision in the next week or so.

Fourth, the Attorney General’s Office had asked the judge to dismiss the case outright, contending that state law prevents taxpayers from challenging a tax in court until after they have paid the applicable tax and, in this case, no one will pay the new capital gains income tax until 2023.

However, the applicable state law specifically allows taxpayers to preemptively challenge taxes they allege to be “in violation of the Constitution of the United States or that of the state,” which is exactly what the plaintiffs in this case contend.

Finally, in the event the judge did not dismiss the case, Ferguson’s office had argued, without elaboration, that the “ends of justice” would be better served by transferring the case to Thurston County Superior Court. As the home to the state capital and state agencies, presumably Ferguson’s team believes it more likely to receive a ruling upholding the tax before a Thurston County judge.

While the Freedom Foundation was prepared to argue these issues at the hearing, Huber indicated he needed additional time to consider whether to dismiss the case and directed the parties to work out a time for a second hearing sometime in August.

As it has for years, the Freedom Foundation will continue to do its utmost to prevent the imposition of a new, unnecessary, harmful and precedent-setting income tax on Washington residents.

Dry WA

A map of the current drought condition in Washington State

 

 

 

This is also sort of a wildfire forecast.  Wildfire and drought go together.  

source https://www.drought.gov/states/washington

The failure of choosing government control over individual rights

Barronelle Stutzman’s endurance and the failure of SCOTUS.

Despite the utopian thinking of Justice Anthony Kennedy in the Obergefell vs. Hodges decision, legalizing same-sex marriage has led to a crisis of religious liberty. Barronelle Stutzman is the definitive answer to the question, “How will my gay marriage affect you?”

In 2014, a long-time customer (whom Stutzman considered to be a friend) asked Barronelle to create a floral arrangement for his same-sex wedding. When Stutzman declined due to her Christian belief about marriage, the client said he understood and asked for referrals to other florists who would be willing to do the job. She recommended three other floral designers, they embraced and said goodbye.

On Friday, in an act of what can only be described as dereliction, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear the case of Arlene’s Flowers, Inc. vs. Washington. In refusing to hear this case, the Court has failed to bring clarity to a situation it ultimately created.

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When Bob Ferguson, attorney general of the State of Washington, saw a post about the incident on social media, the AG brought charges against Barronelle. In 2015, a trial court found her guilty of violating Washington’s anti-discrimination law, ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine and the ACLU’s legal fees, and to no longer accept wedding business unless she agreed to serve gay weddings.

Her appeal to the state Supreme Court drew so much interest that arguments were held in a local college auditorium. The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously against Stutzman, citing Kennedy’s Obergefell language and even claiming that to not service a same-sex wedding is to “disrespect and subordinate” gays and lesbians. The court also ruled that floral arrangements weren’t “speech” but instead “conduct,” and rejected her free exercise claim based on the Employment Division vs. Smith. In other words, the Court found that even if the state had violated Barronelle’s First Amendment right to free exercise, it had done so in a generally applicable way that serves a compelling interest of the government.

Barronelle, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, when the Court found the state of Colorado guilty of animus toward the religious beliefs of Jack Phillips, in the very similar Masterpiece Cakeshop case, it vacated the decision by the Washington court, effectively asking it to re-examine Barronelle’s case and look for the kind of religious animus condemned by Kennedy in the Masterpiece decision. Unsurprisingly, the Washington Supreme Court, not about to admit it had decided anything wrongly, ruled again against Barronelle. So ADF, on behalf of Barronelle, appealed again to the Supreme Court.

By declining to hear Barronelle’s case, the Supreme Court has left her, after seven years of fighting for her rights of conscience, without justice. It has left her without a significant part of her business. It has left her weary but amazingly hopeful after a long battle to save it. It has left her with the potential of financial ruin, and largely at the mercy of the ACLU.

The Supreme Court has left America in the lurch, unsettled as to what definition of religious freedom it will recognize and protect. By ruling in favor of Catholic Social Services a few weeks ago, the Court made it even more clear that religious organizations will be protected. However, by refusing to take up Barronelle’s case, the status of religious freedom for individuals outside of religious organizations to live and order their public lives according to their deeply held convictions, is decidedly not clear.

(Breakpoint)

WA Unemployment Insurance

Changes are coming to your unemployment compensation qualifications.

Job search requirements are being restored in early July.  Individuals drawing unemployment insurance will be required to look for work and document approved job search activities each week in order to remain eligible for unemployment benefits. 

Job search activities begin the week of July 4th, and claimants will report those activities starting the week of July 11th and every week thereafter that benefits are needed.

The Employment Security Department (ESD) will assist individuals to understand the job search requirements before they go back into effect. Communications via email and eServices are taking place starting this week. ESD will send multiple notices with details about what to do leading up to the requirement going back into place.

To learn more about job search requirements now, review the list of acceptable job search activities on this hyperlink - job search activities on the ESD website.

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Important action required for some claimants

The Employment Security Department (ESD) began running a scan June 11th on the unemployment benefits system (UTAB), to ensure claimants are or were receiving benefits from the correct program.   ESD is required to do this by federal law, even if claimants have stopped filing weekly claims.  

Many current and former claimants will be required to answer additional questions when ESD staff think the claimant might qualify for a new claim or not. The fact-finding includes a link to apply for a new claim.

Claimants are advised to respond to all emails, postal mail, and web notices from ESD.  For more information, read the potential new claim alert webpage on esd.wa.gov.

Washingon State gun ban efforts moving forward.

On Wednesday, June 16, the Senate Law and Justice Committee is hosting a special work session on “Gun Violence Prevention Strategies”.  The discussion will include an overview of firearm laws enacted since I-594; gun violence prevention strategies, gaps & challenges; updates on the Centralized Firearms Background Check Program; and Public Records Act exemptions regarding concealed pistol licenses.

There is no opportunity for public input.  We already know the elitists wish to take away our means of  self-defense.  They wish to remove the people's ultimate check on their political ambition.

To view the work session’s agenda, click here.  If you are interested in watching the work session, it can be viewed on the state website here.

COVID shot plus free marijuana

The State of Washington has incentivized the COVID-19 inoculation with free marijuana handouts.

"The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) received multiple requests from “marijuana” (herein referred to as cannabis) retail licensees to engage in a promotion, in a mutual effort with the State of Washington, to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. 

"Effective immediately, the LCB is providing a limited allowance for retail cannabis licensed businesses to offer COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the retail store, and offer one joint at no cost to customers who receive a COVID-19 vaccination at the promotional clinic. 

"The allowance is optional for licensees, and will expire on July 12, 2021."

Source: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WALCB/bulletins/2e301b1

 

Olympia this week

Inslee vetoes COVID-related provision in racial equity analysis bill (Washington State Legislature)

Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed Senate Republican Leader John Braun's amendment to Senate Bill 5405, which mandates a racial equity analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC).

Braun's amendments required a racial equity analysis of the in-person K-12 education restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state Senate passed the amendment on a 47-2 vote.

Inslee excused his veto by saying the Washington Student Achievement Council – an agency that focuses on higher education and not K-12 – conducts a broader review of racial inequities in K-12 education. 

In response, Braun stated, "The racial and economic disparities that are a direct result of remote instruction under the governor's proclamations during the COVID-19 pandemic are severe... we need to understand what inequities were exacerbated or created by our response to the pandemic." 

Inslee's veto gives the appearance of an attempt to cover up the consequences of his decision to close schools.

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Inslee sparks outrage with questionable line-item veto (Washington Policy Center)

During the 2021 legislative session, Democrat lawmakers cut a deal in their attempt to make a High Carbon Fuel Standard (HCFS) and a Cap and Tax new cost realities for families across the state. Lawmakers made the two plans contingent on a future transportation tax package. 

This week, Inslee vetoed the contingency.

Senate Republican Leader John Braun stated, "A court ruled that the governor illegally used his veto power in 2019. Today, the governor ignored that by vetoing a subsection of one of his highest priority environmental bills.  The Constitution is clear – the governor may not veto anything less than an entire section of a bill. Maybe he's emboldened by the sweeping authority he continues to have because majority Democrats refused to address emergency-power reform."

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Second lawsuit filed against state income tax on capital gains  (Seatle Times) 

Democrats' attempt to bypass the state's constitutional law and force a state income tax on capital gains continues to provoke lawsuits. 

Last week, former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna filed a lawsuit alleging that, contrary to Democrat claims, the new tax is – in fact – an illegal income tax. McKenna filed the lawsuit in the Douglas County Superior Court on behalf of "several state residents, including owners of farms and manufacturing businesses, investors, and the Washington State Farm Bureau."

The lawsuit also seeks a court order to block the imposition of the new state income tax. 

The Opportunity for All Coalition, a nonprofit group backing the lawsuit, successfully struck down an income tax passes by the city of Seattle in 2017.

"Supporters of the [income] tax, including education and child care advocates, denounced the lawsuit as an attempt to protect the state’s wealthiest residents from paying their fair share," according to the Seattle Times article.  That line of reasoning isn't credible given that the Democrat controlled legislature increased  taxation by about $5 billion with $59 billion in spending ($8,400 per person).

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Inslee signs two bills at once, raises legal questions (Crosscut)

Lawmakers passed two bills aimed at expanding high-speed internet in rural areas. Problematically, the two bills may partly cancel each other out. 

Rather than take leadership, Gov. Jay Inslee signed both measures into law at the same time – one with his left hand and the other with his right hand.  He did so with the cameras off, a clear sign he knew something is not right. As a result, confusion over the legality of both bills co-existing is building.  At the request of the Secretary of State's Office, the Thurston County Superior Court will likely weigh in and provide guidance. 

One thing remains clear – the pandemic demonstrated the need for more reliable internet connections in rural areas. The lack of reliable internet places adults and children at a disadvantage, making it impossible to access telemedicine services or remote work/online schooling.

Making Seattle safe for crime

The police are leaving -- Seattle Police Department is down 20 percent in the last 18 months.

The Seattle Police Department is struggling under the backlash of recent police reforms. The state of Washington has just enacted a dozen police reform laws, following nearly a year of protests over police brutality. More than $840 million were cut from U.S. police budgets in 2020. This has caused a shortage of police in Seattle. The police chief tells CBS News that 260 officers, which is almost 20 percent of the force, have left in the past year and a half (CBS). 

“Morale is not good, and that’s because we don’t have the political support from our elected officials,” Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan stated. “And as we’re seeing officers flee this area, it’s a direct result of that lack of political support” (Police Tribune).