Voters may be asked to increase sales tax by half a billion dollars

Thanks to Washingtonians' approval of I-1053's 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases in 2010, voters will have the final say on any potential tax increases in 2012. When announcing her budget yesterday, Governor Gregoire said she wants voters to weigh in on her plan to raise the sales tax by $500 million for the current budget. Involving the voters in this decision would not be occurring if not for the four-time voter approval of the state's 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases (currently under legal challenge) . . . READ MORE