Viva La Cola!

Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

x close
The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

State House Wants to End $67 Million Tax Loophole for Big Banks. Senate Says No.

Politics, This Washington   March 12, 2010 at 2:42 pm Josh Feit

Senate Democrats in Olympia have accused the House of being fiscally irresponsible for proposing a budget that raises almost $200 million less than the Senate while simultaneously buying back more programs (like General Assistance for the Unemployable for $100 million) than the Senate.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm for doing a lot of things that their budget just doesn’t sustain,” says the Senate Democrats’ spokesman, Jeff Reading. (The Senate, for its part, has proposed raising the sales tax 0.3 percent for $300 million in new revenue, an idea the House has flatly rejected.)

But wait. The House has actually identified  hundreds of millions in new revenue that the Senate doesn’t support, including one idea that seems like a no-brainer in today’s political climate. The House wants to end  a $67 million exemption that protects big banks from paying taxes on interest earned over $100 million on mortgage loans.

Asked why the Senate Democrats don’t support the House’s populist idea,Reading simply said they didn’t have the votes.

I have a call into Senate Ways & Means Chair Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-11) to see if I can get a better explanation for why the idea was not include in the Senate’s revenue package.

The legislature begins a special session on Monday to reach a compromise on their two competing budget proposals.




  • http://twitter.com/joeszilagyi Joe Szilagyi

    They really should force an up-and-down vote on this to force everyone on the record.

  • http://www.joeszilagyi.com/ Joe Szilagyi

    They really should force an up-and-down vote on this to force everyone on the record.

  • http://twitter.com/fattailed fattailed

    Curious that the Senate prefers to snipe at the House but not at banks.

  • http://twitter.com/fattailed fattailed

    Curious that the Senate prefers to snipe at the House but not at banks.

  • marymaryquitecontrary

    Why isn't every Senator up for re-election being challenged this year? I will give them some of their concerns about the House budget, but this is mind-boggling. Didn't they also block the petroleum tax? How is Ken Jacobsen the only Seattle legislator facing a primary opponent? (Although thank goodness someone's taking him on.)

  • Charles

    Why isn't every Senator up for re-election being challenged this year? I will give them some of their concerns about the House budget, but this is mind-boggling. Didn't they also block the petroleum tax? How is Ken Jacobsen the only Seattle legislator facing a primary opponent? (Although thank goodness someone's taking him on.)

  • martinhduke

    I'm tired of the “we don't have the votes” excuse. The followup question has to be “who are the no votes?” Then go ask those no votes. If they're not willing to provide the names I think we have the answer as to where the blockage is.

  • martinhduke

    I'm tired of the “we don't have the votes” excuse. The followup question has to be “who are the no votes?” Then go ask those no votes. If they're not willing to provide the names I think we have the answer as to where the blockage is.

  • chadlupkes

    I agree, Martin. Tell us the names of the Senators who don't support this.

  • http://chadlupkes.blogspot.com Chad Lupkes

    I agree, Martin. Tell us the names of the Senators who don't support this.

  • Josh Feit

    Good call guys. And I did ask that question. What I got was: When it came up in caucus, the sense was it didn't have the support.

    Again, I have a call into Sen. Margarita Prentice, the Ways & Means Chair—who should have a better sense of who kept it out of her bill.

  • Josh Feit

    Good call guys. And I did ask that question. What I got was: When it came up in caucus, the sense was it didn't have the support.

    Again, I have a call into Sen. Margarita Prentice, the Ways & Means Chair—who should have a better sense of who kept it out of her bill.

  • Michael G

    Remember that right now, we are still in a severe recession and a big part of the problem is the dryness of capital. Hence an exemption on bank profits should not be regarded as a free source of income that can be tapped without consequence. However, it is clear that under the current budget situation, all tax exemptions require careful scrutiny to see if they are worth the cost.
    .
    The larger picture is that Washington's tax code is full of accumulated exemptions that have either outlived their purpose or never had a very good purpose in the first place. As part of a broad overhaul of the tax code, it is time to begin the process of systematically reviewing exemptions. It is also time to institute the practice of writing all exemptions with a sunset provision. These ideas were discussed in the Gates Commission report on taxation back in 2002, and regretably no progress has been made.

  • Michael G

    Remember that right now, we are still in a severe recession and a big part of the problem is the dryness of capital. Hence an exemption on bank profits should not be regarded as a free source of income that can be tapped without consequence. However, it is clear that under the current budget situation, all tax exemptions require careful scrutiny to see if they are worth the cost.
    .
    The larger picture is that Washington's tax code is full of accumulated exemptions that have either outlived their purpose or never had a very good purpose in the first place. As part of a broad overhaul of the tax code, it is time to begin the process of systematically reviewing exemptions. It is also time to institute the practice of writing all exemptions with a sunset provision. These ideas were discussed in the Gates Commission report on taxation back in 2002, and regretably no progress has been made.

  • sarah68

    Washington State's “tax code” is a big bunch of post-it notes that have accumulated over the decades. We're not talking about little neighborhood banks here, but BoA, Wells Fargo, etc. who have lobbyists clogging the halls in Olympia. They know their power and they use it, especially in the Senate.

  • sarah68

    Washington State's “tax code” is a big bunch of post-it notes that have accumulated over the decades. We're not talking about little neighborhood banks here, but BoA, Wells Fargo, etc. who have lobbyists clogging the halls in Olympia. They know their power and they use it, especially in the Senate.

  • Poindexter

    The banks are doing okay right now. I think their lending is down because they fear that a borrower might not have the money or the house won't have the equity to pay the banks back. They are certainly profiting enough on their loans–mortgage interest rates are around 5% and the federal funds rate at which the banks can borrow money is close to zero, so their profit margin is pretty good. As a result, I don't think an extra tax on their interest income is really going to change who they lend to and I don't think it will substantially change the interest rate they lend at.

    This would tax them like every other business, which I think is fair, and it would create more revenue that would stay in the state in the form of state spending rather than going back to New York in the form of bank profits. Can't get too greedy, but I think we can tax them as much as we tax everyone else.

  • Poindexter

    The banks are doing okay right now. I think their lending is down because they fear that a borrower might not have the money or the house won't have the equity to pay the banks back. They are certainly profiting enough on their loans–mortgage interest rates are around 5% and the federal funds rate at which the banks can borrow money is close to zero, so their profit margin is pretty good. As a result, I don't think an extra tax on their interest income is really going to change who they lend to and I don't think it will substantially change the interest rate they lend at.

    This would tax them like every other business, which I think is fair, and it would create more revenue that would stay in the state in the form of state spending rather than going back to New York in the form of bank profits. Can't get too greedy, but I think we can tax them as much as we tax everyone else.

  • http://www.danielbretzke.com/ Daniel Bretzke

    Charge the tax to the big banks. I have been a customer with Chase for 20 years, and they treat me like I didn't exist. I get much better support from my local bank who has total assets of 147 million. I don't think they are affected by this tax.

  • http://www.danielbretzke.com/ Daniel Bretzke

    Charge the tax to the big banks. I have been a customer with Chase for 20 years, and they treat me like I didn't exist. I get much better support from my local bank who has total assets of 147 million. I don't think they are affected by this tax.