State Rep. Larry Seaquist (D-Gig Harbor) plans to introduce legislation this coming session, aimed at raising an additional $2 billion a year in education funding by eliminating nonproductive tax preferences exemptions loopholes.
“In my opinion, the cuts on eduction would do disproportionate harm,” Seaquist said.
Rep. Seaquist proposes creating a Commission on Tax Exemptions, an idea I wholeheartedly endorse, but I’d argue that legislators should go even further. The pending cuts in education and healthcare represent an immediate crisis, and thus require immediate action, and so I urge the Legislature to jump start the process by finding the first billion dollars of exemptions on their own, and putting their repeal on the November ballot.
Let voters decide for themselves what they value more: adequately funding K-12 education, or providing special interest tax exemptions to, say, gold bullion dealers and newspaper publishers?
A former Navy captain and commander of the USS Iowa, Rep. Seaquist presumably knows a thing or two about leadership. His colleagues in Olympia would do well to follow his lead on this issue.
“Rep. Seaquist presumably knows a thing or two about leadership.”
He should set up tutorials for Gov. Gregoire, who knows nothing about leadership. Don’t hold your breath for her to support his bill.
There is already a review system. Here is the url for the citizens commission on tax preferences.
http://www.citizentaxpref.wa.gov/
This entity works with JLARC [http://www.leg.wa.gov/jlarc/Pages/default.aspx] to review and recommend action on tax preferences and exemptions on a schedule which would have each reviewed every 10 years. I wonder how Seaquist’s proposal differs.
Correction Here is the correct url for the citizens commission on tax preferences.http://www.citizentaxpref.wa.gov/
Spot on Goldy!
@Judy: Seaquist wants a two year cycle as I understand him, with default to sunset. It’s still in flux though.
@all: It would be good if your respective leg folks got a call or email to support Seaquist.
There almost $400B in exemptions for Financial Services alone, ~$100M for spraying poison on food — tax breaks are a target rich environment!
Larry’s good people and I’m glad to see him stepping up on this.
@5, Michael: Yep. And he’s got cred with the cons which means there may be the opportunity to bring some Rs along.
Closing loopholes and eliminating exemptions would seem to be the wave of the future, if public services are to have any future. I’ve said all along that trying to add more pennies to the sales tax is a dead end — the poor and middle class can’t stand any more taxes. We all know Washington’s problem is distribution of tax burden, not overall taxation. Loopholes and exemptions are a very major redistributive mechanism, and a very regressive one at that, so that’s the obvious place to look for a remedy to shrinking revenues when you can’t use rate increases.
Great idea!
I hope Mr. Seaquist refuses to discuss the undesirable consequences of closing all these loopholes. Certainly businesses are a bunch of greedy bastards and will just roll over & pay additional taxes. Businesses will threaten to leave and layoff more workers. Don’t believe them. They have no where else to go. Many are invested enough in Washington State that leaving is cost prohibitive. We’ve got these greedy bastards by the balls. Now it’s time to squeeze them hard. If 20% of them go out of business, screw them.
We must have bigger government no matter what the supposed consequences are on business.
I love my State job and all my benefits and paid time-off. It feels so European here in Olympia. Let’s do it immediately, before I get laid off please.
Letting “voters decide” will result in the usual Malthusian cuts resulting in disaster. Let the “voters decide” vai the representative process.
Mr. Welch-
The voters have already decided.
They kept the Democrats in power…but merely put a fence around tax increases requiring a Legislative Supermajority or vote of the people to create new taxes, fees or increases.
If our elected cannot function responsibly under this system, they ought to quit.
It’s the law Mr. Welch…and the will of the people.
re 8: I’d like to say that you’ve raised some interesting and valid points — but you haven’t.
How about some links to prove your point(s)?
Why don’t we just sell ourselves into chattel with big business? They’d certainly be happy to stay here under those conditions.
http://www.boston.com/business.....tax_money/
………………………..:)
We could start by making the Mariners and the Seahawks pay property tax based on the assessed value of the expensive stadiums that they rent for peanuts.
Seahawks Stadium — Parcel Number 7666204876.
2010 Assessed value $597,088,400. 2010 Property Taxes $0.00. They are assessed $76,931.94 for drainage fees and the like.
Mariners Stadium — Parcel Number 7666206483
2010 Assessed value $541,163,800. 2010 Property Taxes $0.00. They are assessed $26,310.01 for drainage fees and the like.
Maybe they are contractually entitled to lease the stadiums for peanuts for the next 10 years or so. But nothing says that they can’t be required to pay property taxes based on the fair value of the property that they are renting.
Make the Mariners and Seahawks pay these property taxes, and we will be getting $5 million per year from each team. That will go a considerable way towards Rep. Seaquist’s goal of raising an additional $2 billion a year in revenue — basically 1/2 percent of the target just from these two parcels.
@11–
So go ahead and do it.
End all those loopholes.
Assume there will be no undesirable consequences and that businesses will merely turn there “savings” accounts over to the State & Local Governments without any impact.
Defy Econ 101.
Do it.
If you are right, no undesirable consequences, Washington State Government will be able to keep it’s current status.
If you are wrong…Washington is really screwed.
It’s all about risk and reward headless lucy.
It’s easy to be a risk-taker with other people’s dough.
Do it.
Follow Larry Seaquist.
You will either be a hero or a zero.
But I can assure you many other states are ready, willing and able to offer incentives to businesses to relocate.
Mr. Pope–
I believe both the Mariners & Seahawks have been given Property Tax exemptions….not sure when they expire or if they can be yanked at any time.
Will try to look it up later.
The State Dept. of Revenue is in charge of granting exemptions based on laws enacted.
Doubt they qualify because of non-profit status.
And the lease agreement is likely tied to the no property tax.
My guess is if that is yanked, we will have 2 empty stadiums in the near future and both teams will go the way of the Sonics.
I could care less either way.
I’m a fan of neither and it is not important to me in the least.
Mr. Pope–
Who owns the Stadiums?
Isn’t it Public Property?
State Government, Local Government etc. are exempt.
Therefore, looks like no deal.
It may be possible that Publicly owned property has to apply for exemptions…but I think it is automatic.
If this is the case, the best you could hope for is when the lease expires or is renegotiated, the government demands property taxes be paid.
Do you think that is very likely Mr. Pope?
Seems like a longshot.
But your heart is in the right place.
Seems like every idea that gets thrown out has some roadblocks or undesirable consequences, doesn’t it?
Report: Pentagon Needs More Money
Incoming Republican congressmen who campaigned on slashing federal spending will face a dilemma when the new congress convenes next month.
A bipartisan group set up by Congress to study defense planning has just issued a report saying the Pentagon needs tens of billions of dollars to repair and replace equipment worn out by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Without that money, our armed forces won’t be able to respond to an emergency on the Korean peninsula or elsewhere.
So, Republicans who promised to cut spending either have to increase spending or compromise our national security.
Welcome to the real world, Tea Party kiddies.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2.....-train-fo/
Republicans have already boosted the deficit and national debt by another $900 billion by forcing Obama to extend tax cuts for millionaires.
Republicans don’t mean what they say when they talk about reigning in spending and reducing deficits. Under Bush, a GOP congress turned surpluses into deficits, and boosted federal spending three times as fast as it grew under Clinton. Much of that money was squandered on waste, fraud, and abuse.
Ms Positive @various: If businesses decide to leave Washington because we finally ask them to pay some taxes for all the government services they receive here, where will they go? New York? New Jersey? How about Somalia, there are no taxes or government services in Somalia, so that’s got to be a business-friendly place, right?
16:
Here’s a good idea to fix that problem, though I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t help much right away: scrap our ballistic-missile sub fleet.
Why, you ask? What good is a boomer against a guy wearing a suicide vest, or a couple of jihadis driving a truck full of explosives? Absolutely fucking nothing. The threat of massive nuclear war is pretty much history, and even nutjobs like the Kooky Kims could be handled without them. The Trident-class fleet became obsolete the day the Soviet Union collapsed, so IMHO it’s time to praise them for their efforts, then send them out to pasture. The maintenance of a massive nuclear deterrent force at sea is a tremendous waste of taxpayers’ money.
@15 “Seems like every idea that gets thrown out has some roadblocks or undesirable consequences, doesn’t it?”
Here’s an idea for you: No roads, no schools, turn felons loose on our streets, drive up everyone’s insurance premiums by filling ERs with uninsureds … etc.
Yeah, let’s allow tax revenues to fall to nothing, it’ll be great for business and everyone else who can stand to live here after there’s nothing left.
@20 I actually don’t agree with that. Russia still has as many nukes as we do, and they’re not exactly a friendly nation. They have a barely functioning government that’s run by gangsters. Btw, I saw an article in The Economist this week that says we also need to spend billions to maintain our aging stockpile of nuclear warheads. Apparently you can’t just park those things and forget them, they require ongoing maintenance just like any other piece of military equipment.
Enron
Bush’s Iraq war
Bush’s Afgan war
Exporting our jobs to Communist China
All wonderful Republican ideas.
The reality is that Bush Republicans spent us to the edge of bankruptcy.
Of course, they intended to. Their theory was that if they spent government into bankruptcy, we’d be forced to get rid of government programs they oppose — you know, programs that actually help our own citizens.
A Republican is someone who would rather give $150,000 of your money to a mercenary who kills unarmed civilians in Iraq than give $15 of your money to a hungry child here in America. Notice I said “your” money because these people don’t believe THEY should pay any taxes.
Ekim–
Seems to me there is plenty of blame to go around politically.
Bill Clinton signed NAFTA and GATT. Did that help keep jobs in America? no.
And plenty of Democrats voted for both wars.
In fact, the Democrats have been totally in charge for 2 years now and we are still in both Iraq and Afghanistan,
As far as Enron goes, they give money to both political parties. Not sure what you mean by that. President Obama did a very poor job of showing any leadership in that clean-up.
It must make you somehow feel good to blame George Bush for everything doesn’t it. He deserves plenty of blame, but so do the Democrats. Both parties have failed us miserable with huge deficit spending.
@27
Oh BS. The Greedy old Perverts party has long tried to make out that they are the party of fiscal responsibility, except when they aren’t.
I always get a kick out of the old “there’s plenty of blame to go around” argument when the rightwing screws up. But they never seem to want to share any praise.
re 13: Have you noticed any undesireable effects in WA from NOT charging big business fair value taxes?
Even if you cut all social services, that still would not do much to solve the budget crunch. But like REPUBLICAN BUDGET BULLIES everywhere, you go after the least powerful first and only.
It seems that the Master’s directive to protect the least among us extends only to blastocytes.
Thanks, bro.!! — for nothing.
I don’t refute nitwits like Ms HIV Positive because I expect to penetrate the chitinous dunders on their heads, but on the off chance that someone is influenced by what they say, I refute it anyway.
I’m curious headless lucy, how do you justify blaming Republicans when Democrats are in control of pretty much everything in Washington State for many years and for the past 2 years nationally??
Seems a bit off-kilter with the reality on the ground.
I really don’t think creating more government bureaucracies to protect people who are less fortunate is the answer.
Do you realize Unemployment Insurance premiums went up 41% 2 years in a row?
Some businesses with no layoffs have seen their premiums skyrocket 200% +.
IN addition, it has gotten to the point where some chronically unemployed are now better off on employment and earning a bit extra “under the table”.
Sad sad state of affairs.
Sometimes trying to help too much through government programs has the opposite impact as intended…unless reliance is the intent.
re 31: Ms. HIV Positive — Your view of the history of the problems states are facing is stunted and (deliberately, I suspect) by:
a- Limiting the discussion to the state of WA
b- Failing to take into account long range Federal policies instituted by Republicans that have systematically gutted state governments financially starting with Reagan.
“Once elected, Mr. Reagan set the educational tone for his administration by:
a. calling for an end to free tuition for state college and university students,
b. annually demanding 20% across-the-board cuts in higher education funding,[2]
c. repeatedly slashing construction funds for state campuses
d. engineering the firing of Clark Kerr, the popular President of the University of California, and
e. declaring that the state “should not subsidize intellectual curiosity,[3]”
http://www.newfoundations.com/.....eagan.html
You are still a dunderhead.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>:)
@22: Actually, Roger, after having studied this pretty extensively in my previous life, NO NUC WEAPON CAN EVER BE USED — not even one.
Use of even one of the trident warheads (24 on each missile) is many times the yield of a 50s thermonuclear device and would have dire worldwide environmental and public health costs for many years after.
The only people who benefit from nuc weapons are the private contractors who build and maintain them.
Fortunately, the Trident fleet is in the process of being repurposed to spook duties and conventional cruise missiles (designation: SSGN vice SSBN), here in Kitsap and in Norfolk, VA.
Not even one, Roger. And there are 1000s left in the world.
re 33: The favelas of rio are the perfect example of self reliance for poor people.
@31, I’ll take a shot at it…
How about exactly what we’re talking about? Tax loopholes and regressive, consumer driven taxes?
I’d add more but there’s nothing that will shake your magical fantasy that living in an anarchistic Galtian paradise like Somolia will, in reality, get you anything but a bullet in the head in some pot-holed alley.
We’ll continue to fight for a fair and equitable society in spite of leeches like you.
@32
Chronically unemployed on unemployment?
They fall off unemployment, you ditto-head, and no longer receive unemployment. 99 weeks is the max and many states don’t offer that, even with record unemployment/underemployment.
@31: I don’t blame Republicans in Washington. They’re too ineffectual to really be blameworthy.
I blame national Republicans, starting with Reagan, his class warfare, and his voodoo economic system (that still fools the uninformed and ignorant); the uninformed voters of Washington who vote to increase services but not to fund those services; and finally (and mostly) people who believe that direct democracy is a good way to set tax policy.
The Tea Party should love this idea! It simplifies the tax code, streamlines Government–this is the reset that the Republicans have been asking for!
@32 “I really don’t think creating more government bureaucracies to protect people who are less fortunate is the answer.”
Well, I do, and my guy is in the White House and yours isn’t, and my gal is in the governor’s mansion and your guy isn’t, so there. Neener neener.
@32 “Actually, Roger, after having studied this pretty extensively in my previous life, NO NUC WEAPON CAN EVER BE USED — not even one.”
You have more faith in humans than I do. That’s why we rabbits dig so many holes and live underground.
@34 not @32
I just saw this. Maybe Goldy commented on it at the time and I missed it, but I’m going to post it anyway. This comment violates HA posting policy because it’s a cut-and-paste job, and therefore probably will be deleted. It also violates Seattle Times copyright, because I’m cutting and pasting it in totality. So sue me already, Frank Blethen! I’m going to paste it anyway, because it deserves to be read by every HA reader.
“October 30, 2008 1:23 PM
“H.A. Seattle, Locked Out
“Posted by Bruce Ramsey
“I went to a Dino Rossi news conference yesterday at his lawyer’s offices in downtown Seattle. Inside the door, past the anti-Rossi protesters, was blogger David Goldstein, of the Seattle lefty blog Horse’s Ass, along with Josh Feit, formerly of The Stranger. The lawyer’s office was on the third floor, and Goldy was saying his reporter, Feit, had been denied admittance.
“I went up to the third floor with Goldy, and told the woman handling the matter who I was, and he said who he was. I had to show ID–which hardly ever happens–and I was in. Goldy was saying that he was part of the Seattle media, too; that he had been barred from news conferences before because he wasn’t ‘paid media,’ and so he had retained Feit, who was therefore paid media.
“I was behind the woman. I said that I knew Goldy and could vouch that he was who he said he was. She wasn’t interested. I don’t think she had any discretion in the matter. Goldy had to go out.
“Of course he was sore about it. Being an employee of a big paper, I have hardly ever had that happen to me. The one time I remember was in the 90s as a business reporter being denied entry to a stockholder meeting of the Fisher Companies, which was then under SEC rules a public company. I was furious–shaking–and a good deal less polite to the Fisher vice-president who kicked me out than Goldy was yesterday–and I don’t regret anything I said to that Fisher man, or about him, thereafter. My experience wasn’t exactly the same as Goldy’s, but close enough.
“Obviously, a lawyer holding a press conference in his private offices may let in who he likes and exclude who he likes. It may well be, as Goldy suspects, that they excluded him because he’s anti-Rossi, and because his style of expression is less than genteel. Maybe even the name of his blog has something to do with it. But for the record: Goldy is part of the media in Seattle. People who follow politics know who he is. They read him. Whether Feit is paid, or how much he is paid, is beside the point. We are not media because of how much money we make, or that we make any at all. We are media because of what we do.
“Goldy, or his man Feit, should have been let in.”
(Emphasis added by Roger Rabbit.)
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsou.....d_out.html
Recommended Book
You should read “The Obama Syndrome” by Tariq Ali, which explains why progressives are so frustrated with Obama. Excerpt:
“A modern American president — Republican or Democrat — operates as the messenger-servant of the country’s corporations, defending them against their critics and ensuring that no obstacles are placed in their way. … In order to ensure the survival of the richest, it is democracy that has to be heavily regulated instead of capitalism. …
“Unable and unwilling to deliver any serious reform, Obama has become the master of the sympathetic gesture, the understanding smile, the pained but friendly expression …. Whether escalating an unwinnable war, bailing out Wall Street, getting the insurance company lobbyists to write the new ‘health care’ bill … the mechanism he has deployed is always the same. A better option is put on the table for show, but not taken seriously. A worse option is rapidly binned. And a supposed compromise emerges. This creates the impression among party loyalists that the prez is doing his best … but the better alternative simply isn’t feasible. This is followed by the spin doctors coming down hard to defense some shoddy compromise or other. …
“Obama’s aggression is reserved for progressives on his own side, a right uppercut to be deployed against those on his left. As for the rest, it’s business as usual. Corporations of every sort and the politicians and lobbyists attached to them will never be stomped into oblivion. Instead they’re raised on stilts.”
(pp. 75-78)
The theme of this book, written by a progressive, is that Obama is a con artist and we’re the ones being conned. In short, Obama is all about imperialism and corporatism as usual, and sweet-talking his gullible supporters into believing otherwise, while all his actions belie his honey-coated words. I’m not saying I necessarily agree with the author, I’m only suggesting you read the book (it’s not very long) and think about what he says.
Think about that: “It is democracy that has to be heavily regulated instead of capitalism.”
Isn’t that what’s happening?
oh goody, yet another commission on how to fix shit…yawn….
@40, Roger:
Being a rabbit, I can’t say as I’d disagree with you.
But, I do know that people who currently hold the power to destroy the world know they can never use the weapons.
It’s what makes the R insistence on more maintenance money as a hostage to START so craven and corrupt — it’s all about protecting and enriching the contractors.
@45, Roger: Of course it is.
But it’s nothing new — since Reagan.
I definitely do not blame Obama — or Reagan (who was basically a decent but seriously misguided man who had seriously evil people around him).
I do blame Milton Friedman. So, if you haven’t already, my book recommendation to you is Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein. I bet you won’t be able to read more than 10 pages in a row without slamming the book down in rage…
Seaquist might want to know that such a thing already exists, as pointed out by Judy way up at the top, and that there will have to be a clear benefit statement with fiscal notes that can get challenged.
http://www.taxpreftaskforce.leg.wa.gov/
Here is their report.
http://www.taxpreftaskforce.le.....erials.pdf
Thanks for paying attention.
re 48 How in the hell can you blame Milton Friedman? What was he elected to?
Your links read like much bureaucracy intended to create a bunch of trees to obscure that a forest is present. Fighting over fiscal notes as to their impact and actual cost amounts to pointless trench warfare intended to keep the troops busy while the generals are drinking at the officer’s club.
It doesn’t take a commission or anything like it. You just have to glance at the latest (2008) DOR report on on tax exemptions to see that anyone trying to be fiscally responsible has much from which to choose.
WA DOR Tax Exemption Report (2008)
I recommend reviewing Table 5 (a good numerical summary) before you read for detail.
A calming intoxicant is also indicated as I predict you will be outraged.
@51 was intended for @49, Mr Baker.
start with taxing indian casinos, indian booze stores, and indian cigs…..thats a start.
but then the queen would reneg on her backdoor agreement/trade for election cash not to tax them.
oh my, she is in quite the pickle now….
22:
Why not retire the Tridents? We still have plenty of land-based and air-launched nukes. And IIRC, attack subs can launch nuclear-capable cruise missiles out their torpedo tubes. Truth be told, whether it’s Russian mafiyosi or Chinese technocrats (really, it’s getting harder and harder to call them ‘communist’ any more), nuclear weapons are just status symbols for them, window dressing to hide the new methods of warfare: economic and cyber-warfare.
Good grief…what business is just going to up and go galt or take their ball and move to another state because they have to pay a few extra bucks in taxes?
Businesses aren’t all that mobile in most cases.
@55
really? have you noticed the change at Boeing in the last 15 years? Nobody ever thought they would move, but guess what, its already under way.
more importantly, increased taxes will prevent future companies from opening up here.
it may not be an overnight things, but it certainly easy to do in 5-10 years….of course nobody thinks that far ahead anymore, do they….especially our state govt.
re 56:
That’s our whole point. They are getting more tax breaks than ever and they’re leaving anyway.
@53 “start with taxing indian casinos, indian booze stores, and indian cigs…..thats a start.”
Can’t because of a little thing called federal law.
“more importantly, increased taxes will prevent future companies from opening up here.”
So let me get this straight. Higher taxes ‘on business’ will cause them to both flee the state and prevent them from coming here.
Sounds to me like an ideal climate to open a business….no competition!
Wingnuts and econ 101….mutually exclusive.
Our state has nearly 7 million people living here. Our population has increased by nearly a million in the last decade. I guess nobody wants to live here, eh? Do business here?
But if you’d rather do business in North Dakota, why, be my guest.
“have you noticed the change at Boeing in the last 15 years?”
Why yes. Unlike my accountant, my doctor, my local real estate developer, and my lawyer line workers at Boeing now compete against low paid workers overseas. These same line workers are also taxed more heavily than those accountants, lawyers, developers and doctors and are told to shovel big tax breaks to a huge international corporation to enable them to “keep their jobs”.
Paradise, no?
55. Tim F spews:
A few bucks…on top of lots of bucks.
Open your eyes Tim F.
Workers Comp Rates went up 7.8% in 2010 and are going up 12% in 2011.
Unemployment Insurance went up 41% in 2010 and 41% in 2011 with good employers with no unemployment going up around 300%.
Have you ever run a business Tim?
There are lots & lots of cost increases and tax increases already being absorbed in this recession.
You are dreaming about piling on more like business owners are an endless supply of money.
But go ahead & do it.
Assume no consequences because no where else for businesses to go.
Assume more taxes will result in businesses hiring more people.
You seem a bit Dim Tim.
@60-
It’s actually 6,724,000.
We’ll see what happens now that the public gravy train has ended.
You might want to take a look at the real Washington State Debt–
http://sunshinereview.org/inde.....ate_budget
Also, it appears in Governor Gregoire’s mind not increasing spending as much as she would like has become what she refers to as a “cut”. Look at Health Care in Washington and you’ll see what I mean.
Gregoire’s not being very honest is she.
@62, 63, 64
It looks like the KLOWN has a new gender-bending screen name.
@62, 63, 64, et. al.:
It’s hard to take you seriously when your first real suggestion for balancing the Washington budget requires violation of Federal law and the U.S. Constitution. Explain exactly how Washington can tax Indian tribes and casinos and then you might have a shred of credibility.
@56 Moving all those jobs overseas and to new areas of the USA has really helped Big B get ahead on those major projects, huh? Those 787’s are just flying off the line!
The real problem is that too much tax money is spent on defense projects instead of infrastructure and things that would benefit the economy.
Also, the Republicans have been pimping and primping big oil and coal for the 30 years instead of encouraging the development of alternative energy sources.
Why was draft dodger Cheney’s energy meetings ‘secret’? Why were criminals like Enron given such a prominent role in policy development?
You mean alternative energy like nuclear power? that same nuke power that the enviro nazi progressives helped destroy with assinine laws and regulations that drove the cost of building a new plant beyond the reasonable?
dont throw all the blame towards the republicans – the democrats and their minions were right there too.
Hmmm…if we were to infer from their actions that “the voters have spoken” regarding enforcement of traffic laws on Washington’s highways, we might as well furlough the State Patrol and permit people to:
Drive as fast as they pleased.
Make a regular sport of cutting each other off.
Engage in friendly competition to blind one another trying to see who’s got the brightest aftermarket headlights.
Otherwise express themselves to one another with middle-finger salutes and a little friendly trading of paint like those good ol’ NASCAR boys.
Drive while talking, texting, playing WoW on a laptop balanced on the steering wheel, cutting their own hair, changing their kid’s diapers, drinking their adult beverage of choice and receiving–hell, maybe even giving–oral sex. Maybe even all at the same time.
@70
slightly funny…but a terrible argument.
@63: Oh, excuse me. Only right wing fuckers are allowed to round up when they feel like it. My bad.
@62: UI taxes go up in recessions. It’s insurance you dolt. Any savvy businessman would know that because you can easily find this information out from the Department of Employment Security in a few seconds.
A good businessperson would plan accordingly, and make a decision, based on the market, whether to pass this cost on to customers or take a haircut on the bottom line. There are other possibilities such as substituting capital for labor, etc. This is how free markets operate.
You, on the other hand, don’t seem to have a clue, or you simply believe that anybody who opens a business has a god-given right to make a profit. I suspect the latter.
That is not how the real world works, fuckwad.
@73–
The point is the cost of doing business in Washington has increased drastically.
You have omitted the other options businesses have as costs increase–
Lay-off employees
Cut wages & benefits.
Move.
I agree no one has a right to make a profit.
Then why are Liberals so intent on guaranteeing outcomes for folks unwilling to work hard and take risks??
Health Care
Handouts
Lots of entitlements in America for non-job creators.
Tax incentives can be effective tools to stimulate economic development, especially for new or emerging industries. But in trying times such as these, it simply doesn’t make sense to maintain outdated loopholes, such as the $10 million-per-year sales tax exemption on nose jobs, facelifts and other cosmetic surgeries.
This will not be an easy process. Closing a tax loophole is the functional equivalent of raising taxes on the affected party, and the recent passage of Initiative 1053 means a two-thirds majority will be required in the Legislature to make this happen.
The Washington Public Interest Research Group (WashPIRG) recently helped identify special-interest giveaways and tax subsidies in the federal budget that could save $600 billion in five years if eliminated, and it feels a similar effort at the state level should be aggressively pursued.
Hopefully, even the most ideologically right-wing members of the Legislature will be able to admit there are some government subsidies and tax loopholes in place that simply aren’t in the public interest and should be eliminated.
@74–
I absolutely agree that there are some “subsidies” are wrong. But I have a hard time calling them subsidies in some cases because I feel the money belongs to the person who earns it. And anything the government demands is a tax or fee.
I’ll bet even the most ideologically left-wing members would admit some of the spending and entitlements haven’t worked and have had negative consequences too and should be eliminated.
Where does Roger Dumb Rabbit get these numbers. CNN Money did a December 2010 study and Puddy published it here. You can ask the databaze keepa for it. At most it’s only $410 Billion over 10 years. Yet Roger Dumb Rabbit continues to spew useless DUMBOCRAT farting points. Did anyone check Roger Dumb Rabbits figgers? No it figgers!
Another fail Roger Dumb Rabbit.
Ekim farts again…
Enron? – Happened during Clinton years per WikiPedia
And we saw the house of cards fall while Bush was president while the house of cards was being created during the Clinton years
Butt there’s more on Enron ekim
Read more from WikiPedia especially the section 2001 Accounting scandal, first paragraph.
How many times does Puddy need to demonstrate DUMBOCRATIC business leaders who shipped jobs overseas ekim? Ask Jeff Immelt of GE. Ask Steve Jobs of Apple. All Puddy needs to provide is one example.
Also, how about Clinton bud Bernard L. Schwartz selling Loral rocket telemetry and guidance systems to China in 1995. Now China has developed an anti-aircraft carrier missile per DoD.
19: You think businesses pay taxes? The truth is businesses collect taxes. That came home with the subuctively named “Windfall Profits Tax” on oil companies. The price jumped by the tax amount plus enough to cover the costs of the book work to collect the tax.
Something that will help, right here and right now, is for Washington State to stop outsourcing our payrolls to a foreign country.
By the way, if we close the tax incentives to own rental property, I will need to raise rents to pay the additional taxes. Or I will just stop providing housing for people who need it. The small tax incentive (that is called a loophole) makes it possible for me to provide rental housing. Without that incentive, there will be far fewer rentals available, which will drive up the cost to renters.