Ledger

Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: Features

Initiative 920 is the larges single-issue ballot measure affecting students this election year.

 
By seeking to repeal taxes on deceased person’s estates in Washington State, I-920 would drastically cut a major source of funding for the Education Legacy Trust, which funds many education programs in the state. If estate taxes were repealed, more than $184 million in tax revenues would be lost.

 
Estate taxes affect only the most affluent Washingtonians. Last year, only 250 estates were subject to the tax. The first $1.5 million of an estate is not taxable, nor are family farms.

 
Money from the estate tax goes directly into funding the Education Legacy Trust – money that is used to fund 7,900 enrollment slots at colleges, as well as the Washington State Need Grant program. High growth institutions, such as the University of Washington Tacoma, stand to be drastically impacted by any loss of enrollments financed through tax dollars.

 
For more information, go to http://vote.wa.gov/Elections/Measure.aspx?a=920&c=1.

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