I've been giving state senator Marko Liias (D-21, Mukilteo) a lot of good press lately, and now, as I lazily just run his press release verbatim, you may think I've lost all integrity.

But to the contrary, check out this doozy of a statement from Liias hyping a tax break for $20 million between now and 2019 for Papa Murphy's pizza. "I have a great franchise owner in Mukilteo," Liias explains to me.

Oy. File this under "In Defense of the Latest Tax Break being proposed in Olympia." 

Here's Liias' press release:

If you purchase an uncooked pizza that was prepared someplace other than the store where you buy it, you won’t be charged sales tax. Ditto for a frozen pizza you buy in a supermarket. But if you buy an uncooked pizza that was prepared fresh in the store where you buy it, you must pay sales tax.

Think that’s crazy? So does Sen. Marko Liias. And he intends to fix it.
Liias’ Senate Bill 5861 would eliminate the sales tax on pizzas prepared fresh in the stores where you buy them.

“There’s no logical rationale for this tax,” Liias said. “If you don’t pay tax on frozen pizzas or uncooked pizzas prepared at other sites from where you buy them, why pay tax on locally made, unfrozen pizzas you buy and bake at home?”

Huh? With the state legislature in contempt of court for not adequately funding K-12 education (and a state supreme court justice recommending getting rid of tax breaks), Democrat Liias is priortizing tax breaks for pizza?

Saving Liias some face, at least the franchisee doesn't show up as a donor on his contributors list.

"I'm not sure we should lead the charge for tax reform by putting pizza eaters in the front of the line for tax justice."—House Finance Chair Rep. Reuven Carlyle

In Washington state, groceries, that is, things you buy at the supermarket and then take home to unpackage and prepare, canned soup, aren't taxed. However, prepared food like a hot soup over the counter at the QFC, is. Papa Murphy's, which is prepped at the store, but then finished up in the over at home, is arguing that they should be exempt. And that's what senator Liias' bill does. "Supporting my local small business. If DiGiorno is tax free, so should my local biz."

Liias added that he supports Governor Jay Inslee's capital gains tax and carbon tax (about $1 billion in revenue), saying: "I am happy to help back fill the tiny revenue effect."

The bill didn't get a hearing yet, but the house companion bill got a hearing in tax break stickler state representative Reuven Carlyle's (D-36, Queen Anne) finance committee last Friday.

Carlyle isn't keen on the bill. He said:

"For real? I appreciate the policy argument that our upside down tax system is often inconsistent, but I'm not sure we should lead the charge for tax reform by putting pizza eaters in the front of the line for tax justice. In an era when we're under court order to better fund public education, $20 million in lost revenue is a big cost to be philosophically pure for pizza customers."