King County Executive / Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ron Sims has announced his new tax plan: As the Seattle Times priceless headline puts it: "Sims pitches four-pronged revamp of tax system". One can even imagine the pain of those prongs ripping into one's assflesh!

The four prongs of the plan:

1) A progressive personal income tax with a top marginal rate of 10% for incomes over $100,000

2) The state's component of the property tax levy would increase by 20%, with an exemption for the first $100,000 of owner-occupied housing.

3) Eliminate the state sales tax (local governments could still collect sales tax).

4) Elimination of the B&O tax; no tax on corporate income.

Sims' complete proposal is here.

The personal income tax, as widespread as it is, is a lousy idea, as it imposes a penalty on productivity. The 10% marginal rate on incomes above $100,000 would be the highest in the nation (except for Montana). Progressivizing the property tax burden is also ill-advised. It would distort land use decisions. And it would simply shift even more of the burden of paying for government from the owners of less expensive homes (including average homeowners in less expensive communities) to renters and the owners of more expensive homes (including average homeowners in more expensive communities).

The one sensible thing about this proposal is the elimination of corporate taxes.

In any event, this is all a bunch of idle fantasizing. Both a personal income tax and a change to the property tax levy would require amendments to the state constitution, which in turn would require supermajorities of both houses of the legislature and a majority of the popular vote. That's not going to happen.

Ironically, what is probably the most popular provision -- the repeal of the B&O tax -- is also probably the least likely to happen. Why? For the same reason that the U.S. Congress will never make meaningful reforms to the IRS code. The state legislature spends a good deal of its time working out special breaks on the business and occupation tax for politically-influential industries. Half the jobs in Olympia would disappear overnight if there were no longer a need to lobby or make campaign contributions in order to win favorable B&O legislation.

UPDATE: Like many other Democrats, Ron Sims is simultaneously calling for lowering the sales tax, while also calling for raising the sales tax with I-884. The excuse given is that the I-884 increase would be an "interim measure". "Interim", that is, until the sales tax is replaced altogether by an income tax. "Interim" is also what some people of faith call the present time of waiting for the Messiah to arrive.