Washington State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D-Spokane) added her support to keep the current sales and use tax exemption for manufacturing machinery, equipment, repair and replacement parts, and research and development which is welcome news.
Writing in her BLOG, Sen Brown said: "Don Brunell, Executive Director of the Washington Association of Business, urged legislators in a recent syndicated column to keep the current sales tax exemption for manufacturing companies’ investment in new equipment. I also heard this message loud and clear from Bill Williams, former CEO of Telect in Liberty Lake."
"I’m not aware of any legislators who have proposed such legislation but we clearly have no plans to end that tax exemption. If anything, we intend to expand the toolkit of incentives to spur investment now," Sen Brown wrote.
Sen. Brown's support is important and she, in turn, is asking AWB to help with worker training programs. With AWB former chair Creigh Agnew, a retired Weyerhaeuser vice president, and AWB Workforce Institute Director Mike Hudson on Washington's Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, we are working to maximize training opportunities for people entering the workforce and people who need retraining for new jobs. She assigned Sen. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) to work with AWB and employers on training programs to help Washingtonians learn skills needed to employment and re-employment.
As for the manufacturing incentive, research released by AWB underscores the economic impact of the state’s manufacturing sales and use tax exemption on purchases of manufacturing equipment, parts and repairs and costs associated with research and development. The report’s key findings show that sales tax exemptions that reduce the purchase price of machinery and equipment also provide a stimulus for investment.
Nationally-recognized economist John Urbanchuk conducted study, and projects that between now and 2016, the exemption will:
• Create 54,100 new jobs in Washington
• Expand our state’s economy by $49.3 billion
• Put $22 billion in the pockets of Washington families
• Increase tax revenues for state and local governments by $2 billion
• Prompt $4.4 billion in new investment
• Spark $1.3 billion in construction spending and equipment purchases
Don C. Brunell, President (DonB@awb.org)
