Dick Nelson is a former Washington State legislator. He currently contributes to the public debate on state and local fiscal issues through research and commentary. As when he was in the legislature,
Businesses argue that changes would be a disaster. But should we continue business subsidies when we will be forced into brutal cuts in health and social services that will hurt needy individuals?
The legislative session is reaching the halfway point, but those who want to reduce business tax breaks have yet to make substantial progress. A couple of bills expanding tax breaks are moving forward, however.
Washington (home of Amazon) has held back from growing national efforts to make online retailers pay sales taxes, but the recent revenue forecast emphasized the increasing problem posed by lost taxes on purchases from online outlets elsewhere.
The governor has talked in terms of "minimal" benefits that might bring big returns. Perhaps there are other attractions here for Boeing.
Candidates for governor pay attention: The debt-limit fight could send us scrambling for new answers to how to finance and conduct state business. Here's a primer on how dependent we are on federal expenditures.
