(The Center Square) – Washington state’s Jay Inslee is the worst governor in the nation in terms of taxation and spending policies since 2020, according to the Cato Institute’s recently released “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors 2022.”
The Washington, D.C.-based libertarian think tank ranked all 50 governors on a 100-point scale, with the numerical scores converted to letter grades “A” through “F.” Governors that received an “A” grade cut taxes and spending the most, while governors garnering an “F” grade have increased taxes and spending the most.
Inslee scored 28 points in Cato’s rankings.
“Governor Inslee received an F in Cato fiscal reports in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020, and he receives an F in this report, with the lowest score in the nation,” the report reads. “He has a large appetite for tax and spending increases. Under Inslee, general fund spending expanded at an annual average rate of 6.3 percent between 2013 and 2022.
“When Inslee originally ran for the governor’s office, he promised not to raise taxes, but in his first budget, he proposed more than $1 billion in hikes. Since then he has proposed or approved myriad new and increased taxes on energy, capital gains, tobacco, businesses, real estate transactions, and online sales.”
Inslee has been Washington’s governor since 2013.
The report went on to take Inslee to task for what Cato regards as offenses against taxpayers, including actions related to a new payroll tax to fund the state’s nascent long-term care program and signing a new capital gains income tax into law last year.
A 0.58% payroll tax on workers was supposed to kick in at the beginning of January to pay for the WA Cares program, but that plan was derailed in part by lawmakers concerned about people paying into the program who would not be eligible to receive benefits, including a lawsuit by Washington workers who live out of state and have no plans to retire in the Evergreen State.
Earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a bill delaying implementation of the beleaguered WA Cares long-term care program until July 1, 2023. Inslee signed the legislation into law.
The fate of the capital gains income tax – passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Inslee last year – is in the hands of the state Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on the tax’s constitutionality this winter.
The measure adds a 7% tax on capital gains above $250,000 a year, such as profits from stocks or business sales.
On March 1, Douglas County Superior Court Judge Brian Huber ruled that the tax on capital gains was “properly characterized as an income tax…rather than as an excise tax as argued by the State” and thus struck it down, as the Washington State Constitution’s uniformity clause does not allow income to be taxed at different rates.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson then asked the state Supreme Court to take up the case on direct appeal, with the high court agreeing to do so.
The Governor’s Office was not impressed with the Cato study and its methodology.
“It’s a pretty subjective take from a highly ideological organization,” Inslee spokesperson Mike Faulk told The Center Square via email. “It assumes all revenue and spending are bad, period, regardless of context, public support or results. The methodology even dings governors for changes in cigarette taxes, which have broad public support.”
Cato’s top 10 governors in terms of taxation and spending policies:
1. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds
2. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu
3. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts
4. Idaho Gov. Brad Little
5. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey
6. North Carolina Gov. Ray Cooper
7. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster
8. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice
9. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
10. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt
Cato’s bottom 10 governors in terms of taxation and spending policies:
50. Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee
49. California Gov. Gavin Newsom
48. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
47. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy
46. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
45. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
44. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf
43. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
42. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee
41. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear
