Council Oks Tax Request Package

Wed., Jan. 18, 1995

From Staff And Wire Reports

King County wants to pay off part of the Kingdome’s $51 million repair bill with some tax moves that could increase ticket prices to Mariner games, monster-truck rallies, concerts and other stadium events.

The Metropolitan King County Council approved a legislation-request package Tuesday in which the county asks the state for authority to collect an additional $6.5 million a year in taxes, rebates and redistributions of various state funds.Councilman Ron Sims said that state legislative relief was essential to maintaining the county’s current financial health.”We don’t want to be (in) the position of being forced to make serious operating cuts later,” he said.

The measure, which the Legislature has yet to consider, includes:

A 3 percent surcharge on tickets that would raise $1.2 million a year for the county. Admissions prices already include a 5 percent city tax.

A rebate on the sales and business-andoccupation taxes the county paid on the Kingdome project, about $2.6 million total.

Authorization to let King County collect an additional 1 percent of the state’s hotel/motel tax revenue beginning in 2000, as well a delay in sunsetting parts of the tax from 2012 to 2020. Those two proposals would raise about $5.8 million.

Redistribution of a state sales-tax-equalization account, raising $1.3 million a year.

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