March 10, 2010 in City

Gregoire says her state’s best for business

Citing Forbes rating, governor disputes Otter claim

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OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire jabbed back at her Idaho counterpart Tuesday over whose state is better for business.

Washington got a better rating in Forbes Magazine for being business-friendly and doesn’t have a personal or corporate income tax, Gregoire, a Democrat, said during a news conference.

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, a Republican, began this exercise in gubernatorial smack talk Monday, posting a “love letter” to businesses in Washington and Oregon. He invited them to move to his state to avoid taxes that voters raised in the latter and which the Legislature is likely to raise in the former.

In Washington, both the House and Senate have passed bills raising taxes and dropping some incentives for businesses, although the two proposals have vast differences in the types of taxes, and significant disagreement on the amount to raise. This may cause them to miss Thursday’s deadline for ending the short session.

Idaho has a nice, stable tax system, Otter wrote: “Predictable tax and regulatory policies are what our employers need in order to maintain their operations through this rough patch.”

Gregoire’s rejoinder: “We’re second-best in Forbes, they went from seventh to 11th.” And while she professed to not being an expert on Idaho, she said she was pretty sure they had taxes Washington doesn’t, such as the corporate profits tax and a graduated income tax.

She didn’t mention one tax Washington has but Idaho doesn’t: the business and occupation tax on gross receipts.

She said she hadn’t talked to Otter about his letter. “I have a call in to him today,” she said Tuesday.

Trying to recruit businesses from another state is “fair game,” but suggesting there’s a massive tax increase going on in Washington is not, Gregoire said.

Three comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  liarsinnews on March 10 at 7:11 a.m.

  Just who is Gregoire trying to kid? Gregoire is bragging that Washington state has no state income tax yet she wants its so bad that her spend thrift side kick, Lisa Brown and she would do what ever is necessary to screw the Washingtonians.

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  cowboy on March 10 at 2:16 p.m.

  she is so two faced i still don’t understand how she got re-elected.

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  soccermomsusie on March 10 at 4:53 p.m.

  Just because we are ranked far better than Idaho, as a state to have a business in, means nothing. It’s like saying a baseball team that won the world series is better than a baseball team that hasn’t won any games. I say tell me whose coach is more conservative, whose coach likes to tea party more, whose coach is more like Glenn Beck and I would say that was the best baseball team.

  Thank God we have smart people like you two gentlemen in Spokane writing such insightful comments so businesses will know how well-educated and smart our labor pool is!

  I would just as soon they raise my property taxes so high that I am in the poor house before I would want to have corporations pay more taxes. God put them in charge of us. It is His will. It’s in the Bible.

  Thankfully, Spokane has no B and O tax. It is my pleasure to pick up the tab for businesses! I know they are good people because their commercials tell me so. Avista even gave me some free lightbulbs!

  Keep up the great work, dick adams and cowboy!! I want to hear more of your ideas!