WA state has strong protections and environmental standards, but I wouldn't consider it high tax (no income tax for instance). Is it an outlier?
But the lack of income tax and higher wages make up for it. My tax burden is about 30% of my income, whereas in other states, Red and Blue alike, it would be anywhere from 30-40%. In general it's a low tax state, which is great for high income earners but not great for the state budget. We've had constant battles over funding education and Washington schools are woefully underfunded.
[0] - http://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/assessor/Reports/annual-repo...
First, Seattle's tax rate is 9.25 cents per $1,000, not 9.9 cents.
Second, I made a display error. The rate is not 9.9%; that would be very high. It is 0.925% (just under 1%).