Tax Study Resources

These materials were used as background materials for the tax study. These documents may require Word, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Excel or Power Point to read. They may represent several viewpoints:

Primary Tax Sources for Washington

LWVWA studies:

• LWVWA Tax background


• Focus On The Property Tax, 1966


• The Basic Tax System in Washington, 1992


• Washington State Tax History chart


• County Finances: Tax and Revenue Systems in Washington Counties

State of Washington documents:

• Department of Revenue


• Washington State Tax Structure Study, 2002 The final report of the Gates Tax Study Commission.


• Presentation on Tax Structure Study describes the work of the Gates Tax Study Commission. You can also obtain a hard copy of the two volume study from the Department of Revenue


• Department of Revenue Publications


• New tax rankings


• Comparative tax burdens


• Tax by income
• The Senate Ways and Means Committee has published:


• A Citizen's Guide to the Washington State Budget (January 2004)


• Washington State Property Tax Manual (October 1, 2003)


• Property Taxes: Examptions and Special Programs (November 1, 2003)

Copies can be ordered from:
Senate Ways and Means Committee
300 John A. Cherberg Building
Olympia, Washington 98504-0482
Telphone: 360-786-7715
Fax: 360-786-7615

Other materials:

• History of tax reform - Don Burrows


• "The New, Definitive CBO Data on Income and Tax Trends" by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities


• Washington's Budget and You - Trainer's Guide


• Washington Tax Charts


• The State's Budget Crisis will Fall Hardest on the Poor, the Needy and the Middle Class - Mark McDermott


• Taxes and the Economy - Don Hopps


• The Tax Foundation


• The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
  The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy paper, "Washington's Tax System is the Most Regressive in the Nation" can be found at this site. The full study is called "Who Pays State & Local Taxes?" and it gives an analysis of each of the 50 states.


• Publications from the Washington Research Council emphasize the relationship between taxes and business.