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Tax Structure Committee – Commonly referred
to as the “Gates Tax Study”
Tax
Structure Committee Final Report
Institute
on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)
Who
Pays? is a comprehensive analysis of state and local tax burdens
in all fifty states. The study, released on January 7, 2003, shows that
on average, state and local tax systems require the poorest taxpayers
to pay the highest effective tax rates. This study concluded that Washington
has the most regressive tax structure in the country.
Other State Fiscal Analysis Initiative (SFAI) Work
Link to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities page of all SFAIs
Ford Foundation Assessment of SFAIs: http://www.omgcenter.org/new.html
Official Washington State Budget and Tax Information
Governor Gregoire’s 2006 Supplemental Budget:
(scroll down for details) http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/highlights/
Governor’s Office of Financial Management
(OFM)
www.ofm.wa.gov. OFM is the hub of budget information. They help develop
the budget proposal for the Governor, provide budgetary oversight of
state agencies, work with the legislature to develop fiscal analysis
of legislation (fiscal notes), and develop a wide variety of state demographic
information.
Priorities of Government (POG)
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/pog/default.htm
Department of Revenue (DOR)
www.dor.wa.gov. As Washington state's principal
tax collection agency, the Department of Revenue oversees about 60
different taxes. We collect 93.5 percent of state General Fund tax revenues
and all local sales tax revenues. In Fiscal Year 2004, collection activities
accounted for a total of $13.9 billion. The biggest revenue generators
were state and local sales and use tax, which accounted for $8.1 billion;
business and occupation (B&O) tax brought in $2 billion.
Tax Reference
Manual
http://dor.wa.gov/content/statistics/2005/Tax_Reference_2005/default.aspx
Forecast Councils
Washington State Caseload Forecast Council: http://www.cfc.wa.gov/default.htm.
The Caseload Forecast Council is charged with forecasting the entitlement
caseloads for the State of Washington. The Council meets several times
a year to adopt official forecasts that are the basis of the Governor's
budget document and utilized by the legislature in the development
of the omnibus biennial appropriations act.
Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council:
http://www.erfc.wa.gov/. The Council was established to approve the official
state economic and revenue forecast. You can read the official revenue
forecasts that the Governor and Legislature use to develop their budgets – the
next meeting of the council is February 15th.
Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program Committee (LEAP)
http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/default.asp. The LEAP
Committee serves as the Legislature's independent source of information
and technology for developing budgets, communicating budget decisions,
tracking budget and revenue activity, consulting with legislative committees,
and providing analysis on special issues in support of legislative needs.
Washington State Legislature
Senate Ways and Means Committee: http://www1.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/WM/
House Appropriations Committee: http://www1.leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/APP/
House Finance Committee: http://www1.leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/FIN/
Local, State and National Organizations
Children’s Alliance: www.childrensalliance.org
League of Education Voters: www.educationvoters.org
Washington Education Association: www.washingtonea.org
Service Employees International Union: http://www.seiu.org/lookup/results.cfm?state=wa
Washington Federation of State Employees: http://www.wfse.org/
Statewide Poverty Action Network: www.span.org
Washington Citizen Action: www.wacitizenaction.org
Washington Association of Churches: www.thewac.org
Center for Law and Social Policy: www.clasp.org
Washington Tax Fairness Coalition: www.wataxfairness.org |
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