Washington state is well known for its Rube Goldbergian tax system. We have no income tax, but do have a regressive sales tax, a punishing B&O tax, high property taxes, and countless charges and fees that make us taxpayers feel as if we're being nibbled to death by ducks. The appeal of Tim Eyman's "$30 tabs" mantra was its simplicity: Can't we just make one thing easy? Apparently not. Not only aren't our tabs $30--mine are still $90 plus and that's without the dumb monorail tax--but the fees nickel and dime you: $25 in RTA tax, $30 for "construction and maintenance projects," $10 to improve "the movement of freight," and--get a load of this one--a $4 "plate reflectorization fee." Yes, you pay a special fee for shiny plates. The list goes on. But this is the part that really grinds Mossback's butt. The Department of Licensing says I need new plates, whether I want them or not. So they're charging me a non-optional $20 "plate replacement fee." I have an 8-year-old car with perfectly good plates. As far as I know, no official state plate inspector has come out and found them wanting. And I'm sure in the name of conservation, the planet doesn't need to cough up any more valuable metals or plastics to make me a new license plate unless I really need one. Nevertheless, I'm getting them. It's a dumb waste. But wait, the stupidity isn't over. If I want to keep my current license plate number--nothing fancy, just one of those six letter and digit combinations the computer coughs up--I need to pay an extra $20. In other words, I'm paying $40 bucks for plates I don't need and a number I already have. This has been the law since 1997, but it's the first time I've run into it. Look, I don't mind paying taxes for stuff--even stuff I don't personally use or agree with. But I don't like the way we're turning into a user-fee society because I think it erodes the commonweal. And I resent paying for stuff (license plates and numbers) that I've already paid for once before. It's wasteful, exploitive, and it's the kind of stuff that keeps Tim Eyman employed.
Allow me to go 'Andy Rooney' on the Department of Licensing
Washington state is well known for its Rube Goldbergian tax system. We have no income tax, but do have a regressive sales tax, a punishing B&O tax, high property taxes, and countless charges and fees that make us taxpayers feel as if we're being nibbled to death by ducks. The appeal of Tim Eyman's "$30 tabs" mantra was its simplicity: Can't we just make one thing easy? Apparently not.
Washington state is well known for its Rube Goldbergian tax system. We have no income tax, but do have a regressive sales tax, a punishing B&O tax, high property taxes, and countless charges and fees that make us taxpayers feel as if we're being nibbled to death by ducks. The appeal of Tim Eyman's "$30 tabs" mantra was its simplicity: Can't we just make one thing easy? Apparently not.
