Page 12 - November 2020 WCA Ketch Pen

HEADQUARTERS
Legislative Update
12
Hello Friends!
By the time this hits your mailboxes, the General Election will have taken place. Although tax revenue collections are higher than what they expected, there is still a potential $4 billion hole in the State Budget. Below are a few issues that we could see in the 2021 Legislative Session.
• Capital Gains Tax – Yes, we’ve heard this one before and in fact it has previously passed the House. There’s a proposal already out there and this year they’ll be grappling with a potential budget deficit of about $4 billion.
• Increased Unemployment Tax Rates – Currently, the Unemployment Trust Fund is down about half and is at risk of complete depletion under the current unemployment scenarios. Employers may see proposals to increase those tax rates.
• Loss of Agriculture’s Tax Preferences – This loss would be devastating –With the legislature facing a daunting budget shortfall, some legislators will be looking to close beneficial tax preferences.
• Country Of Origin Labeling – According to multiple legislators, this issue will be back in some form.
• Meat Processing – There may be much discussion this session regarding meat processing. Especially for the State to set up its own program. It’s clear there hasn’t been enough processing capacity. The numbers from last session would put
estimated costs for a State program at about $2.5 million per year.
• Carbon Taxing Schemes – There will definitely be proposals out there to tax carbon. Many in the business community may find ways to pass these costs on, but as price takers, this could be a big hit to agriculture.
• Road Usage Charge (RUC) – Declining revenues from the gas tax have been discussed for years now and a tax on vehicle miles traveled is one proposed solution from some legislators. This could definitely be an issue this legislative session.
• WOTUS and Buffers – Ecology has already announced that they will revert to the Obama regulations for Waters of the US (WOTUS). In addition, there are persistent rumors that Buffers are being discussed in regulatory circles.
Sincerely,
Ketch Pen www.washingtoncattlemen.org
November 2020