This Washington
Sens. Murray and White: City Should Have Known About Safeco Tax Loophole
Seattle state Sens. Ed Murray and Scott White both expressed "disappointment" this afternoon at statements by city officials, including council president Richard Conlin, indicating that they were unaware of a tax loophole that allows Safeco Field to charge its own 10 percent parking tax, preempting the city's 12.5 percent tax and costing the city as much as $300,000 a year. Conlin accused Safeco, whose governing authority sent the city a letter informing them of the tax last week, of "stealing" money from city coffers.
As I reported earlier today, White and Murray added the amendment in the final days of this year's special session to legislation that would have extended the hotel/motel taxes to pay off debt on the Kingdome and Qwest Field. (The bill that was ultimately adopted dedicates the taxes to pay for arts and housing, but not until 2021).
"I'm very disappointed at what Richard Conlin said," Murray told PubliCola by phone. "That language was in the bill that the House passed, supported by the city of Seattle. The question is, why are they only now finding out about something [in a bill] they supported?"
"It's not Ed Murray and Scott White doing some sweet deal for the Mariners," Murray added, noting that versions of the bill that included the parking-tax language have been in front of both houses of the legislature many times in the past.
White echoed: "I am concerned and I'm disappointed that it is characterized this way, when [the city's] lobbying crew had access to this bill for weeks." In an email, he added that the language "was not new and was not a surprise to anyone who had bothered to read any version of the bills."
The bill White is referring to is a separate bill extending the stadium taxes to expand the downtown convention center, which died in both houses. The amendment was in that bill in the House as of February, and in the Senate as of May. White's special-session bill included most of the language from those bills (but not the convention center provision).
"Everybody knew that that provision was in there," White said. "I'm one of the few legislators who will go to bat for the city of Seattle. If this is the first time they learned this was in there, they need to look internally and not at the legislature."
As I reported earlier today, White and Murray added the amendment in the final days of this year's special session to legislation that would have extended the hotel/motel taxes to pay off debt on the Kingdome and Qwest Field. (The bill that was ultimately adopted dedicates the taxes to pay for arts and housing, but not until 2021).
"I'm very disappointed at what Richard Conlin said," Murray told PubliCola by phone. "That language was in the bill that the House passed, supported by the city of Seattle. The question is, why are they only now finding out about something [in a bill] they supported?"
"It's not Ed Murray and Scott White doing some sweet deal for the Mariners," Murray added, noting that versions of the bill that included the parking-tax language have been in front of both houses of the legislature many times in the past.
White echoed: "I am concerned and I'm disappointed that it is characterized this way, when [the city's] lobbying crew had access to this bill for weeks." In an email, he added that the language "was not new and was not a surprise to anyone who had bothered to read any version of the bills."
The bill White is referring to is a separate bill extending the stadium taxes to expand the downtown convention center, which died in both houses. The amendment was in that bill in the House as of February, and in the Senate as of May. White's special-session bill included most of the language from those bills (but not the convention center provision).
"Everybody knew that that provision was in there," White said. "I'm one of the few legislators who will go to bat for the city of Seattle. If this is the first time they learned this was in there, they need to look internally and not at the legislature."
