Tax would balloon to $1 billion from $773 million under Senate majority proposal 

The state Senate’s majority Democrats should simply repeal the badly flawed business-tax increase that took effect Jan. 1 rather than pursue a new plan that would take far more money from professional-service providers, says Sen. John Braun.

“The majority wants to replace a dysfunctional and unnecessary tax increase with one that’s still unjustified but is easier to collect, fully aware that the hit on employers would now soar to a billion dollars over four years,” said Braun, R-Centralia and Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The panel will have a public hearing on the proposed replacement at 3:30 p.m. today in Senate Hearing Room 4 at the state Capitol. 

“Calling for a do-over that knowingly puts hundreds of millions more into government’s hands is a whole new take on the concept of ‘government greed’. It would be better to listen to the voters who gave this tax a thumbs-down, roll the rates back to the pre-2019 level and then just walk away. With the state’s revenue picture running 850 million dollars ahead of projections, Olympia can afford to let these employers keep more of their money,” Braun said. Continue reading →