The state Department of Labor and Industries has announced that employers and workers will have to pay about 3.1% more for workers’ compensation insurance in 2022. Read more about the increase here in The Olympian.

This is like coal in a worker's Christmas stocking. Add the hike to a 50% payroll tax increase coming in January for the state's Paid Family and Medical Leave, and a 58-cent-per-$100 payroll tax promised for a government-run, long-term-care fund, and you might drop your eggnog. 

Meanwhile, there was no tax relief for Washingtonians in Gov. Jay Inslee’s 2022 supplemental budget proposal this week. Instead, it called for more than $4 billion in increased spending. 

With a balanced budget, billions in reserves and rosy revenue projections, it’s hard to watch taxes climb for Washington workers.