This Washington
State House Wants to End $67 Million Tax Loophole for Big Banks. Senate Says No.
Senate Democrats in Olympia have accused the House of being fiscally irresponsible for proposing a budget that raises almost $200 million less than the Senate while simultaneously buying back more programs (like General Assistance for the Unemployable for $100 million) than the Senate.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm for doing a lot of things that their budget just doesn't sustain," says the Senate Democrats' spokesman, Jeff Reading. (The Senate, for its part, has proposed raising the sales tax 0.3 percent for $300 million in new revenue, an idea the House has flatly rejected.)
But wait. The House has actually identified hundreds of millions in new revenue that the Senate doesn't support, including one idea that seems like a no-brainer in today's political climate. The House wants to end a $67 million exemption that protects big banks from paying taxes on interest earned over $100 million on mortgage loans.
Asked why the Senate Democrats don't support the House's populist idea,Reading simply said they didn't have the votes.
I have a call into Senate Ways & Means Chair Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-11) to see if I can get a better explanation for why the idea was not include in the Senate's revenue package.
The legislature begins a special session on Monday to reach a compromise on their two competing budget proposals.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm for doing a lot of things that their budget just doesn't sustain," says the Senate Democrats' spokesman, Jeff Reading. (The Senate, for its part, has proposed raising the sales tax 0.3 percent for $300 million in new revenue, an idea the House has flatly rejected.)
But wait. The House has actually identified hundreds of millions in new revenue that the Senate doesn't support, including one idea that seems like a no-brainer in today's political climate. The House wants to end a $67 million exemption that protects big banks from paying taxes on interest earned over $100 million on mortgage loans.
Asked why the Senate Democrats don't support the House's populist idea,Reading simply said they didn't have the votes.
I have a call into Senate Ways & Means Chair Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-11) to see if I can get a better explanation for why the idea was not include in the Senate's revenue package.
The legislature begins a special session on Monday to reach a compromise on their two competing budget proposals.
