Microsoft will apparently be paying a higher business tax in the state which will help offset tuition costs but at least some credit should be given to Republicans in the state, who made this happen.

Jeff Guo’s report at the Washington Post never once mentions that.

College will soon be a ton cheaper in Washington state. Thank Microsoft.

To survive the recession, many states chose to pass the pain on to college students. Legislators gutted higher education budgets knowing they could make up the difference with increased fees. Students at public colleges found themselves paying 28 percent more after state funding per-pupil fell by nearly a quarter nationwide between 2008 and 2013.

So far, states have been slow to undo the cuts they made during the crisis. In Washington state, per-pupil spending remains 28 percent below pre-recession levels, while sticker prices at public four-year colleges is up 58 percent — and that’s all after adjusting for inflation.

The state ranks among some of the worst defunders of higher education since the recession — but not for much longer. This week, legislators agreed to an unprecedented set of tuition cuts. Over the next two years, prices will decrease by 15 to 20 percent at public four-year colleges, and by 5 percent at public community colleges.

At a time when other states are struggling just to hold college costs constant, Washington state lawmakers demonstrated remarkable resolve in their latest budget. The tuition cuts — part of a $200 million increase in state higher-education funding — will be paid for largely by raising taxes on businesses.

As the Seattle Times reports, the new budget raises $185 million over the next two years by closing business tax breaks and increasing business tax penalties. A full 30 percent of the estimated new revenue will come from one company —Microsoft — which will now have to pay sales tax on some of its equipment purchases.