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By Robert A. Vella

In his State of the State address, Washington governor Jay Inslee (D) acknowledged the highly regressive tax policies in the Evergreen State which disproportionately impacts low-income families and which exacerbates the widening wealth gap in America.  The speech coincided with the release of a new economic study that identified Washington as having the most regressive tax laws in the U.S.

From The Seattle Times – State at critical crossroads, Inslee tells split lawmakers:

OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee Tuesday used his State of the State address to double down on his sweeping budget proposals to spend more on education and transportation, and to tax carbon pollution and capital gains.

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The first-term Democratic governor argued that Washington is at a “crossroads” between two paths: one to leading thriving communities through new government investments, and the other to “a slow erosion of our shared prosperity.”

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Inslee’s largest applause line, which drew many Democrats to their feet, came when he criticized the state’s tax code as “the nation’s most unfair tax system.” He called on lawmakers to approve his proposals for a new capital-gains tax on the wealthy, and a tax credit for hundreds of thousands of low-income families.

However, as the article points out, it is now problematic if the progressive-minded governor will be able to implement his proposals:

The speech comes a day after the Republican-controlled state Senate changed its rules to require a two-thirds majority vote to advance any new tax proposals in that chamber. And Republicans wasted no time Tuesday in laying out their opposition to Inslee’s tax proposals.