Washington Lawmakers May Nickel & Dime Our Purchases (Again)

I know I'm not alone when I say I'm tired of being nickel and dimed every time I turn around.

Streaming services have been slowly raising the prices. So, I've been canceling.

Certain products I enjoy, prices have been rising, so I'm choosing not to purchase them.

Utilities seem to have a cost of operations increase, strangely enough, every time there's a cost of living pay increase. Those are a little harder to go with out!

And don't even get me started on Washington Car Tabs!

Well, because "Gas Tax Collections" are not as lucrative as they have been in the past, Washington lawmakers are considering a delivery tax.

Right now, they're eyeing a revenue option to put a fee for online purchases.

"Clearly our cities, our counties and our state have transportation challenges with too many potholes and too much traffic. This is one of a number of things we're looking at to come up with the resources to make needed investments." – Senator Marko Liias.

If I understand the situation correctly, the decrease in funds from the gasoline tax has caused worry about how to fund the work on the roads (broadly speaking).

So, they didn't think about a decrease in the Gas Tax income when they started taking steps to get everyone in an electric vehicle, and now they want to find another way to raise money.

The idea is taxing whatever we buy online (sales tax) but if it comes to our house, a new delivery tax.

Would this include food delivery services like Uber Eats or DoorDash? If not, how long will it be until it does?

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This decision has not been made yet, but if it is, it will be another way to nickel and dime us, and I'll keep an eye on who votes yes, so I know how to vote in their next election.

We want better roads and a cleaner environment; we should pay for it. I get it.

But for the longest time, it's been the 'do as we say, not as we do' mentality, and that isn't right.

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The one benefit I see of this is that more local stores will hopefully open back up. But I'm sure they'll create a new tax for that.

They will continue to discuss and look for funding options in future meetings.

But I wonder, have any of the lawmakers thought about taking a pay cut? Looking at some of their paychecks, that could fix a lot of potholes.

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