An Orting man, apparently upset over the state's
taxes, has proposed some major changes to the Washington state seal.
Jim
Vaughn, a retired military officer, has proposed a new seal featuring "a
tapeworm dressed in a three piece suit attached to the taxpayer's rectum as the
central figure" in place of George Washington with the words "committed to
sucking the life blood out of each and every tax payer" surrounding the
vignette.
Vaughn detailed the proposed changes, as well as his grievances
against the state, in an affidavit filed with the the Secretary of State's
Office this week.
"I know that a tapeworm attached to the taxpayer is a
bit radical, but we've got to get the people's attention and Olympia's
attention," Vaughn told KOMO News.
Washington state has "lost a
significant portion of our industrial base resulting in a high unemployment
rate" while the state government "continues to grow and spend at unsupportable
rates by increasing taxes at a time when our citizens can least afford it,"
Vaughn claims in the affidavit.
Washington is considered the leader of
the "Terrible Ten" states for tax by the Tax Justice Digest, Vaughn states,
because of "the extraordinary degree to which they have shifted the cost of
funding public investments to their very poorest residents."
Vaughn
claims the bottom 20 percent of the income scale in the state pays nearly six
times as much of their earnings in taxes as do the wealthy, while the middle
class pays up to three and a half times as much.
"At this point, just
like a lot of people (I'm) starting to think, 'Enough's enough,'" said Vaughn, a
small business owner. "I'm just trying to make a point and educate the voters on
just how bad our taxes are."
Another point of contention for Vaughn is
Washington's status as one of four states that does not allow its state and
local corporate taxes to be deducted from federal taxes. This, Vaughn claims, is
"double and triple taxation in cities that also charge businesses a B&O
(business and occupation) tax."
The affidavit also states Washingtonians
are currently paying "in excess of forty taxes," including a gasoline tax, a
hunting license tax, and a marriage license tax. And the state, while
"continuing to invest new ways to tax the citizens," is considering 23 different
taxes, including a candy tax, a tax on carbonated beverages, and an increase in
the state B & O tax, Vaughn wrote.