Letter to the Editor: Shirley Sutton; regressive taxes

To the Editor:

Shirley Sutton, running for 32nd district state representative, has called for reforming Washington’s regressive tax structure. She and all Democrats need to go much further than vague declarations and develop a comprehensive tax reform package, and then campaign on it for as long as it takes to pass it.

Such a package should include reductions in sales tax and an exemption for part of assessed property taxes to reduce taxes for lower-income people. The revenue should be made up by a progressive income tax, including a capital gains tax. That would require amending the state constitution by popular vote, which would be difficult and might take several election cycles.

But unless Democrats are prepared to take on real tax reform like this as a long-term campaign, we will never be able to solve all the so-called crises that have become normalities in recent years—homelessness, inadequate mental health care, deteriorating infrastructure, and more.

Chris Nielsen
Shoreline