This Washington
Showdown at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Retreat. Sen. Khol-Welles vs. Microsoft Exec Brad Smith
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED. STATE SEN. JEANNE KOHL-WELLES CHALLENGES MICROSOFT EXEC BRAD SMITH ON I-1098.
Okay, President Obama is done speaking. Kissel's heading back to the office to file a full report (with flip video).
So, back to our dispatches from the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce retreat at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum.
Brad Smith, Microsoft's General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Legal and Corporate Affairs, is speaking to the group. His suggestion for Washington state: Get in the top 10 for quality of life and get out of the top 10 for costs of doing business.
He also explained why Microsoft came out so big for 520: "It just seems to us that after about 14 years, it's about time to compromise."
He touched on both issues when we sat down with him last June at a free-form talbe talk dinner he hosted for the press.
However, he also suggested a new idea for Seattle. He called on the group to come together every fall and agree on two things "we can go together to Olympia on."
For a read on Microsoft's priorities for the state, it's worth checking in on their donations to state campaigns this year. Their biggest contribution—$75,000—has gone to defeat I-1098, the high-earners' income tax, which would direct 70 percent of the annual $2 billion to education.
Their candidate contributions have gone overwhelmingly to Democrats, and most notably, to Democrats in their turf on the Eastside, including State Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48) and state senators Erica Oemig (D-45) and Rodney Tom (D-48), all locked in tough elections with business-oriented Republican challengers.
UPDATE:
During the Q&A, Sate Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36, Seattle), clearly chagrined about Microsoft's hefty contribution to sink 1098, asked Smith: "You say you want higher ed improved, but," pointing out the crippling effects the tanked budget has on education, "we are making our state employees take furloughs and 41 percent of those employees are higher ed employees. How can we do this with all cuts. We have the most regressive tax system in the country. Some of us are trying to change that right now. But I imagine we will lose that in November. What structural changes will you support."
Smith said he "doesn't want to do anything that puts us in the top 10 for costs [of doing business] again. That's why Microsoft is opposing 1098. We don't want to be in the top tier for income taxes. We don't think we'll be able to recruit the top talent."
Smith's claim about I-1098 pushing Washington State into the "top tier" for income taxes is an exaggeration. According to a study by the Economic Opportunity Institute (which we wrote about yesterday), the effective tax rate on top income earners in a post-1098 Washington would be about 4 percent, ranking Washington 26 out of 44 states.
Okay, President Obama is done speaking. Kissel's heading back to the office to file a full report (with flip video).
So, back to our dispatches from the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce retreat at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum.
Brad Smith, Microsoft's General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Legal and Corporate Affairs, is speaking to the group. His suggestion for Washington state: Get in the top 10 for quality of life and get out of the top 10 for costs of doing business.
He also explained why Microsoft came out so big for 520: "It just seems to us that after about 14 years, it's about time to compromise."
He touched on both issues when we sat down with him last June at a free-form talbe talk dinner he hosted for the press.
However, he also suggested a new idea for Seattle. He called on the group to come together every fall and agree on two things "we can go together to Olympia on."
For a read on Microsoft's priorities for the state, it's worth checking in on their donations to state campaigns this year. Their biggest contribution—$75,000—has gone to defeat I-1098, the high-earners' income tax, which would direct 70 percent of the annual $2 billion to education.
Their candidate contributions have gone overwhelmingly to Democrats, and most notably, to Democrats in their turf on the Eastside, including State Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48) and state senators Erica Oemig (D-45) and Rodney Tom (D-48), all locked in tough elections with business-oriented Republican challengers.
UPDATE:
During the Q&A, Sate Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36, Seattle), clearly chagrined about Microsoft's hefty contribution to sink 1098, asked Smith: "You say you want higher ed improved, but," pointing out the crippling effects the tanked budget has on education, "we are making our state employees take furloughs and 41 percent of those employees are higher ed employees. How can we do this with all cuts. We have the most regressive tax system in the country. Some of us are trying to change that right now. But I imagine we will lose that in November. What structural changes will you support."
Smith said he "doesn't want to do anything that puts us in the top 10 for costs [of doing business] again. That's why Microsoft is opposing 1098. We don't want to be in the top tier for income taxes. We don't think we'll be able to recruit the top talent."
Smith's claim about I-1098 pushing Washington State into the "top tier" for income taxes is an exaggeration. According to a study by the Economic Opportunity Institute (which we wrote about yesterday), the effective tax rate on top income earners in a post-1098 Washington would be about 4 percent, ranking Washington 26 out of 44 states.
