Tax increases kick in for liquor, cigarettes, tires

OLYMPIA – Starting today, it will cost more to buy cigarettes, a tire, or a bottle of liquor in Washington.

July 1 is the start date for several tax increases approved this spring by the state Legislature. A one-liter bottle of liquor now costs $1.33 more. The state tax on cigarettes rises 60 cents, to more than $2.02 a pack.

New tires will have a new $1 tax tacked onto them. There’s a new 1 percent business tax on nontribal gambling and horse-racing. And you’ll now pay sales tax if you buy an extended warranty.

It’s not all a one-way street. State lawmakers also reduced some taxes: on cigars, self-serve laundries and some fruit and vegetable processors, among others.

But that doesn’t give much comfort to Paul Claussen, a Spokane hotel manager.

“They (state lawmakers) have just got an insatiable maw for more money,” he said. “They don’t care where they get it, and if they can tax sin, they’ll do it.”

The taxes are among 31 new laws taking effect today. Most of what the Legislature has done will kick in July 24.

“As far as I can see, I think we handled it right,” said Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton. “I’ve really heard very little from anybody regarding the taxes.”

Lawmakers tried not to hurt businesses, she said. For example, restaurants and bars don’t have to pay the liquor-tax hike, although giving them that break meant a higher tax hike for retail liquor shoppers.

Arguing for the tax hikes this spring, Democrats and some Republicans said that the hundreds of millions of additional dollars were necessary to steer more money into teacher salaries, schools and higher education.

“The thing that people need to keep in mind is that government needs money to operate,” said Andrew Villeneuve, chairman of the Northwest Progressive Institute, a liberal political group based in Redmond. “There really is no free lunch.”

Taxes are an investment in the future, he said. They make it possible to maintain highways, run state colleges and teach children.

“Our tax dollars are really a wise investment as long as they’re used properly, and usually they are,” he said.

Claussen’s unconvinced. He thinks the state should cut back social programs.

“A lot of the money is just wasted in bureaucracy,” he said. “They have not proven to me that they’re spending the money they already take in wisely. They need to go through and majorly cut.”