More comments are coming in from people who are pushing for the expiration of "temporary" taxes--such as surcharges on car rental customers--which are going to pay for the Seattle Mariners' baseball stadium, according to King5.com.
Better-than-expected tax collections means the Safeco Field bonds are expected to be paid off by the fall. In 1995, temporary taxes such surcharges on hotel, restaurant, and car rental customers were enacted to pay for the field.
Shane Skinner, business manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car of Washington, said lawmakers should keep their promise to the people and expire the taxes.
But Rep. Tina Orwall, D- Des Moines has proposed HB 1997, which aims to keep certain temporary taxes alive, including the 2-percent car rental surcharge. This time, the money would pay for a renovation of the State Convention Center, the arts, and low-income housing. Orwall says the bill will create about 4,500 jobs for the building industry.
Skinner says King County has the fifth-highest rental car taxes in the nation, and the promise to end the tax should be honored.