Inside: The Paid Family and Medical Leave rate is increasing, costing every worker in the state more of their paycheck for benefits they may not use.
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ACCOUNTABILITY
Transit Agencies Need Accountability Not Increased State Subsidy
Washington taxpayers contribute nearly $900 million annually to public transit, yet these agencies are governed by unelected boards that are increasingly insulated from voter accountability and resistant to innovation.
Despite soaring subsidies, ridership is lower than it was a decade ago, raising serious questions about why we rely on a "go-along to get-along" appointment system rather than direct representation. The current governance model is broken: structural reform is needed before costs climb any higher.
Ready for Another Pay Decrease from the State? It Happens Jan. 1
But there’s another reason many workers — minimum-wage workers and otherwise — won’t have as much as they thought they would in the new year: The state will start taking even more of their wages to fund a program many of them will never use and that increasingly benefits higher-income households.
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) payroll tax will rise again, this time to 1.13% of gross wages. That increase is automatic under current law and represents yet another pay cut for W-2 workers across the state.
This isn’t a surprise. It’s exactly what some of us warned about years ago. Build it and claims will come.
TAKE ACTION:
TELL LAWMAKERS AND THE GOVERNOR TO OPPOSE NEW TAXES
Automatically email a "No New Taxes" message to the governor, your state senator and your state representatives using the form on WPC's TAKE ACTION page. Fill out the form and your state legislative delegation is automatically identified for you. Edit the draft email to reflect your voice and point of view, then click send and your message will be delivered to your legislators and the governor.
With Governor Ferguson announcing his support for an income tax, your voice is more important than ever before. In 2025, lawmakers passed the biggest tax increase in state history, but lawmakers are already talking about adding more. Meanwhile, Washington state’s business tax climate has deteriorated significantly, falling from 6th best in 2014 to 5th worst in 2025. And with taxpayers leaving the state at a rate of one every 30 minutes, we can't afford to keep the pattern of reckless spending going! Visit the Take Action page today and urge your friends to do the same!
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How many people you know would guess that Washington ranks 45th -- near the bottom -- for business taxes? Or that our state operating budget increased almost 49 percent (AFTER adjusting for inflation and population control) since the 2012-2015 budget? The legislative session is coming up quickly. To make informed decisions about how to best govern our state, we must acknowledge where we are. WPC's Report Card for Washington's Future gives you the data you need to cut through rhetoric and see where our state needs course correction.
Setting Washington on a path to prosperity starts by cutting unnecessary waste. That's exactly what WPC researchers do, and here are two examples from last year alone.
