9th district legislators assail Democrats’ tax plans

Left on the outside for the final state budget decisions, local GOP legislators this week criticized the Democratic majority’s plan to raise taxes to balance the state’s 2010-2011 fiscal year budget.

As of press time Wednesday, majority Democrats were wrangling over separate tax proposals in the House and the Senate. Senate leaders were proposing an additional sales tax.

“Basically it’s a dueling match between (Senate majority leader) Lisa Brown and (House speaker) Frank Chopp,” said Rep. Susan Fagan, R-Pullman, as she was preparing for a break at home while Democrats hammered out a final agreement.

The Senate has yielded to the House on budget differences the last couple of years, said Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, which means this year’s fight should be particularly bitter.

“I think a knife fight might be more appropriate,” suggested Schoesler from his office Tuesday.

Since Republican legislators have said they will vote against the majority’s budget, the GOP is largely shut out of the final budget negotiations.

“I can’t vote to put on more sales tax or to tax cats and dogs,” said Schoesler. “The people I know expect government to change and improve in hard times just like they have to. What they’re doing in this legislature is not improving government.”

Both houses have agreed to hike the state’s operating tax on businesses. The B&O tax will increase from 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent over the next four years, said Fagan.

“The real deal is they’re going to raise the B&O tax,” said Schoesler. “I have never, ever heard of taxing gross receipts as a way to pick up a slow economy.”

Fagan criticized House Dems for their tax package, which includes taxes on cigarettes, community banks, custom software, home mortgages and even bottled water.

One proposed hike she was particularly familiar with is a proposal to raise private aircraft taxes. Such a move would force many private plane owners, like Fagan’s former employer Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, to license and keep their airplanes at out of state airports, she said.

Many of those taxes will drive consumers out of state, she said, which will reduce the actual revenue gleaned from the new taxes.

“I’m very concerned that all of these projected increases are not going to pan out,” said Fagan.

Instead of going after new taxes for revenue, they said the majority should be looking to cut spending.

“The majority goes on and on about cutting $12 billion in spending in two years, but in reality, that cut has kept the budget about flat,” said Schoesler. “If you don’t grow at the requested rate, it’s a cut. Only in Olympia.”

“I think all of us hope we’re wrong when we say ‘if we don’t get a grip on it now, it’s going to be even worse when we come back next year,’” said Fagan.