SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington Governor Jay Inslee released his state budget proposal Tuesday as one of his final moves in office.
This proposal would last through 2027 and is meant to act as a guide for legislators on how to spend state money in the coming years.
Right now, the state’s revenue outlook shows a big disconnect between what it promised to spend and how much cash it will actually pull from taxes and other income sources.
Lawmakers are looking at a budget gap somewhere between $12-16 billion. The upcoming legislative session in January will consider the proposal on Washington’s spending between June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2027.
On Tuesday, Inslee proposed cuts of about $2 billion, part of it suggesting a pause on expanding eligibility for the ECEAP program which funds preschool and childcare facilities.
“We’re not going backwards,” Inslee said. “We may not be going as forward as fast as I would have liked, but we’re not going backwards.”
Another big part of the proposal would be to tax bigger companies 10% more.
“It would be on companies with annual income exceeding $1 million in certain tax categories,” Gov. Inslee explained. He added that a majority of businesses would not be impacted by this increase.
Inslee claims these changes would pull $2.6 billion in revenue, but District 4 Representative and Senator-elect Leonard Christian (R-Spokane Valley) is concerned about the impact this will have on consumers.
“People are going to go across the border and start doing more shopping,” Christian said.
Senator-elect Christian is concerned raising business taxes may increase consumer prices, prompting people to shop in Idaho instead where items may be cheaper.
“You don’t propose a budget like this when you’re saying you’re $16 billion in the hole,” Christian said.
Legislators will meet in January to address the budget deficit and consider Inslee’s proposal. They will need to create a balanced budget, a final version expected by April.
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