Standing outside the Washington Legislative Building on a sunny day in mid-April, Republican state Rep. Travis Couture delivered a descriptive diagnosis.
Democrats, he warned the crowd, weren’t only trying to tax uber-wealthy residents during the 2025 legislative session. They were also pursuing proposals that would affect average Washingtonians, he said.
“You know what they said? ‘Don’t forget about who the villain is when we tax the rich’ — and then they taxed your beer, your bait, your Zyn, your boat gas,” the Allyn conservative said.
“It’s a full body slam on blue-collar joy, you guys.”
Now some of those taxes referenced by Couture weeks ago are embedded in the Legislature’s final budgets, both operating and transportation, that are still awaiting the governor’s approval. Gov. Bob Ferguson has said the state needs to strike a balance between progressive revenue and spending reductions — but hasn’t yet publicly specified which tax measures he’ll support.
Couture joined rally-goers and fellow Republican lawmakers on April 15 in pushing back against a proposed property-tax hike. Attendees also expressed disdain for other revenue ideas from the majority party.
Lawmakers worked throughout the recently wrapped 2025 session to pass legislation bridging a budget shortfall estimated between $7.5 billion and $16 billion, depending on who’s talking.
Democrats insisted that more taxes are necessary to maintain crucial state services, and that’s what was passed before the session adjourned. The opposing party rejects that notion.
Couture, the House Republican budget leader, has emphasized that although Democrats broadcast plans to tax the state’s richest residents and large businesses, they also introduced measures that would hit regular residents’ wallets.
And, more precisely: the wallets of blue-collar Washingtonians.
House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary deployed a similar line of attack earlier in the session. During a media availability in late March, the Auburn Republican said that Democrats are “nickel-and-diming Washingtonians out of every last joy they can find in life.”
But Democratic leadership has bristled at such framing. Majority-party lawmakers argue that what really brings Washingtonians joy is access to much-needed state programs and services.
What are the ‘blue-collar joy’ taxes?
Couture highlighted in an interview the taxes and fees that would be felt by his constituents.
The Legislature passed a 50% increase, from $30 to $45, in the cost of a Discover Pass, which grants access to state parks. Hunting and fishing licenses are on track to climb 38%; the fees currently range between $14 and $85, and under the legislation that passed would range between $19 and $117.
Democrats also boosted prices for most liquor permits and licenses by 50%, and taxed Zyn nicotine pouches similarly to other tobacco items, at 95% of the taxable sales price.
Plus there’s the 6-cent bump on the state’s gas tax.
“My district is … pretty rural. People still drive trucks, and they like to go enjoy nature,” Couture said. “The way I viewed all of those taxes are just like a tax on all the things that people in my district love to do, right?”
He also referenced a short-term rental tax that didn’t get passed by lawmakers.
HB 1763 would have established a 6% excise tax on short-term rentals booked via platforms such as VRBO and Airbnb.
Democrats see it differently
State Rep. April Berg, chair of the House Finance Committee, underscored a changing economy — think: inflation, a global pandemic, higher case loads — and said the tax code requires updating to meet the needs of Washingtonians.
At the same time, the state ensures regular raises for teachers, firefighters and police, it’s kept certain costs stagnant, the Mill Creek Democrat said. The Discover Pass price has been $30 since it was introduced about 14 years ago, and the gas tax also hasn’t gone up in a while.
“But this year was that year,” Berg said in an interview. “And it was that year because we are facing a deficit. We are facing historic inflation.”
Democrats have argued throughout the session that the taxes they passed will, in fact, help safeguard Washingtonians’ joy.
Measures championed by Democrats this year aim to expand health-care access and lower costs, which advocates say would put more money back into workers’ pockets. And another D-backed bill would allow striking workers to receive unemployment insurance benefits, an effort supporters believe will help such employees advocate for better wages.
Berg referenced Washington programs and services, including college-funding help for low-income students, the Working Families Tax Credit, and Apple Health. Case loads are rising because more families are qualifying for assistance, she said.
“As we are increasing taxes, which we did, we’re not taxing the ‘joy’ out of Washington,” Berg said. “We’re simply making a tax code that meets the needs of Washingtonians.”
