Not all tax breaks are necessary

GIL CARBONE; Olympia • Published February 13, 2012 Modified February 12, 2012

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A Feb. 6 article in The Olympian informed us that Washington statutes contain at least 452 tax breaks that could generate additional state revenue, if they were eliminate. The story was on Page A3. It should have been on the front page in 3-inch letters.

If on Feb. 4 you had poled 5,000 Washingtonians asking how many tax breaks we enjoy, the likely answers would probably range from 20 to 75. That little secret must have been too dangerous for the common man to know, considering that The Olympian story reported, “This year, there’s been no serious discussion about closing tax exemptions” in light of the $1.5 billion budget gap.

It’s about time the Legislature gets serious about the matter, particularly in light of amending the laws with defunct tax breaks and others that apparently have not been investigated. If the legislatures have over the years enacted 640 tax breaks, there certainly must be significant attention to face the issue.

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