‘Harder to do business’: Jake sympathizes with WA’s small shops facing new tax increases
Sep 28, 2025, 5:00 AM
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed the largest tax increase in state history in May, a $12 billion tax and fee package that takes effect Oct. 1.
KIRO host Jake Skorheim described one of the many small businesses affected by this new tax, which impacts niche business experiences such as the Creative Hands pottery studio in Bothell.
“This new tax that will be imposed on [Creative Hands], which technically qualifies as a live presentation, has an additional 10.2% sales tax. With just a sign of a pen from Governor Ferguson, he decided to make it harder to do business for these people,” Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “This poor business is already saying people are leaving, they’re losing business because of this tax.”
“There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of small businesses struggling to get by, subjected to the same tax,” KIRO host Spike O’Neill added.
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
