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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Daree Blake: Capital gains tax one small step in bettering the education of our children

By Daree Blake

By Daree Blake

Like a lot of parents right now, I’m rolling my cart down the aisle of my local stores, shopping for the best deals on school supplies. With five children, I have a long list that includes notebooks, binders, colored pencils, tissues, hand sanitizer and more.

You know what else is on my list? Asking billionaires to pay what they owe in taxes so all our kids can thrive. Thanks to some lawmakers, we’re closer than ever to checking that off the list.

Last year, we came together to pass a capital gains tax, which will bring in about $450 million every year to benefit families across our state, funding K-12 public schools, providing more enrollment spots for child care and giving children more early learning opportunities.

This modest 7% tax will apply only to the wealthiest residents of our state when they make big profits from selling stocks or bonds. My family and yours will likely never pay this tax; it will only apply to about 1% of our state’s richest people. It’s about time that those who do well in Washington do right by Washington and pay what they owe.

Families like mine, caregivers and teachers will see the results from the capital gains tax soon. Communities across the state will feel the benefits. Employers will have a more stable workforce when parents and families have access to more affordable local child care. The capital gains tax isn’t just a good idea to help fix our upside-down tax code, it makes sound economic sense for all of us.

I testified in Olympia in support of the Fair Start for Kids Act, which is funded in part by the capital gains tax, because I know the difference that early learning can make for students. Two of my children attended preschool through the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, also known as ECEAP. Not only did ECEAP help get my kids ready for kindergarten, it created a community for our family. While our kids learned through play, practiced social skills, and developed language and literacy, parents like me also gained skills. For example, parent educators help families set financial goals – like improving credit scores or saving to buy a house – or write resumes and practice interviewing. Our entire family was enriched and changed through our preschool experience.

The Washington Association of Headstart & ECEAP even has a program to teach parents like me how to advocate in Olympia. We learned how laws are passed, how to find our legislators and make appointments to meet with them and how to speak up on bills that are important to our families. That’s how I heard about our upside-down tax code, the worst in the nation when it comes to tax fairness and why I’m committed to fixing it.

Those of us who are low- and middle-income earners pay anywhere from 8% to 17% of what we bring in to taxes, while those who make the most pay just 3% in state and local taxes. As a family of seven, we spend almost all the money we make, which means that we are taxed on nearly all of our income. It makes sense to fix our tax code so families like mine feel less impact. We pay more than our share, while the wealthiest in our state get away with paying less.

The capital gains tax is a step in the right direction. But there’s more work to do. I’m going to keep at it, along with families from ECEAP, and people from around the state who want to make sure that billionaires are paying their share. When everyone pays what they owe in taxes, all our communities can have what they need – from preschools to parks to health care and more. I hope you’ll join us.

Daree Blake is a Spokane Valley resident and mom of five who has worked with the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.