This Washington
Senators Propose Referendum That Would Require Simple Majority To Close Tax Loopholes
Thirteen senators led by Sen. Phil Rockefeller (D-23, Bainbridge Island) gathered Wednesday afternoon to offer an alternative approach to balancing the state's budget through a set of bills to close tax loopholes and a referendum that would require only a simple majority to eliminate tax exemptions. Rockefeller said "there is another path, one less traveled," to balance the budget and preserve essential services. The house and senate have both proposed two-year budgets that cut more than $4 billion from state programs.
The idea, Rockefeller explained, would be to send a referendum sponsored by Sen. Ed Murray (D-43, Seattle) to the voters that would modify I-1053 so that legislators could close tax loopholes with only a simple majority vote. Some of the individual bills to close loopholes—like those sponsored by Sen. Tracey Eide (D-30, Federal Way) and Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36, Seattle) dealing with chicken bedding and membership fees for golf and social clubs —could potentially hinge on the passage of a companion referendum, the senator explained. When pressed for details, Rockefeller said some bills could pass with a simple majority individually and be sent to voters or they could be rolled into a single referendum package.
Much of the press conference centered on the need to make the current budget cuts felt by a broader swath of the state's citizens, not just low-income folks. "The senate budget is built on the premise of shared sacrifice in the distribution of cuts. But we haven't yet seen that sacrifice extended to other individuals who don't receive direct expenditures," Rockefeller explained. "We dont want to be prisoners to this sort of one way one-sided thinking."
Eide, who said she caries a book around containing $92 billion in tax exemptions, introduced her own bill to eliminate a tax exemption for chicken bedding. "We don't provide bedding for our children, yet we provide bedding for chickens," she argued, adding "when it comes to a time when we are looking at the health, welfare, and education of our children—I'm sorry, they outweigh the chickens."
The press conference also focused on the general process of reviewing tax expenditures, not just the individual loopholes. "Most are permanent, they're not reviewed," Kohl-Welles explained, noting Rep. Reuven Carlyle's (D-36, Queen Anne) bill in the house to put sunset dates on all tax expenditures. The senators reiterated the fact that even though a tax exemption may have made sense at the time of its creation, it requires just as much scrutiny as line items in the budget today.
In closing, Rockefeller reminded the public that "it is important to note that these proposals will not change our current all cuts budget, but they are a start for future revenue recovery."
The idea, Rockefeller explained, would be to send a referendum sponsored by Sen. Ed Murray (D-43, Seattle) to the voters that would modify I-1053 so that legislators could close tax loopholes with only a simple majority vote. Some of the individual bills to close loopholes—like those sponsored by Sen. Tracey Eide (D-30, Federal Way) and Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36, Seattle) dealing with chicken bedding and membership fees for golf and social clubs —could potentially hinge on the passage of a companion referendum, the senator explained. When pressed for details, Rockefeller said some bills could pass with a simple majority individually and be sent to voters or they could be rolled into a single referendum package.
Much of the press conference centered on the need to make the current budget cuts felt by a broader swath of the state's citizens, not just low-income folks. "The senate budget is built on the premise of shared sacrifice in the distribution of cuts. But we haven't yet seen that sacrifice extended to other individuals who don't receive direct expenditures," Rockefeller explained. "We dont want to be prisoners to this sort of one way one-sided thinking."
Eide, who said she caries a book around containing $92 billion in tax exemptions, introduced her own bill to eliminate a tax exemption for chicken bedding. "We don't provide bedding for our children, yet we provide bedding for chickens," she argued, adding "when it comes to a time when we are looking at the health, welfare, and education of our children—I'm sorry, they outweigh the chickens."
The press conference also focused on the general process of reviewing tax expenditures, not just the individual loopholes. "Most are permanent, they're not reviewed," Kohl-Welles explained, noting Rep. Reuven Carlyle's (D-36, Queen Anne) bill in the house to put sunset dates on all tax expenditures. The senators reiterated the fact that even though a tax exemption may have made sense at the time of its creation, it requires just as much scrutiny as line items in the budget today.
In closing, Rockefeller reminded the public that "it is important to note that these proposals will not change our current all cuts budget, but they are a start for future revenue recovery."
