Vancouver Chamber Magazine on Competitiveness: Washington's Business Tax Burden Hampers Competitiveness

The Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce has developed a first-class chamber publication.  Give President Beth Quartarolo a lot of credit.  In this month's issue, the Chamber tackles the competitiveness issue.  It asks: Is Washington at the Tipping Point?

In his book Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell points out:

"Tipping points are "the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable. Gladwell defines a tipping point as a sociological term, "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point."

Vancouver and other border county businesses feel the differences between Washington's "gross" (based on income, not profits) vs. Oregon's "net" (based on profits) tax systems every day. Since Washington voters have rejected calls for an income tax to replace the state's B&O tax since the state's Supreme Court tossed out Washington's state income tax in 1936, the chances of changing our state's tax structure are pretty slim.  Therefore, Washington elected officials need to control the level of taxation and with lawmakers facing a $2.5 billion deficit in January, the question of "tipping points" becomes central for those job providers in the private sector.

Here is the Greater Vancouver Chamber's take on the tipping point from its May 2008 Chamber News (the cover feature of the magazine): 

"With Washington ranking 10th highest in the nation for business's share of state and local taxes, with business responsible for 52.9 percent of the total state and local tax burden compared to a national average of 44.9 percent......We need to recognize that some place along the line, taxpayers will reach a tipping point where they simply can't afford to stay in Washington."

Those statistics come from the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy (WashACE) 2008 Redbook comparing more than 50 competitiveness cost facts for states.

The Chamber hit the nail on the head.

Don C. Brunell, President (DonB@awb.org)