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Home / Washington Business - May/June 2006 / Chair's Corner: Legislature Acts to Protect Washington's Tourism Industry |
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Chair's Corner: Legislature Acts to Protect Washington's Tourism Industry |
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Written On: May/June 2006 |
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Written By: by Creigh H. Agnew - Chair, Board of Directors |
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We have all overheard tourists extol the natural virtues of our glorious state: the expanses of forests and fields, the wonders of our coastal ecosystems and the diversity of our native fish and wildlife. From the wheat fields of the Palouse, as they wave and glisten on a sunny August afternoon, to the temperate forests of the Olympic Peninsula, to southwest Washington on a drizzly February morning, our state is truly a gem. Its a place with natural beauty, treasured by tourists and residents, and sustained by the collective efforts of many including our state legislators, who recently passed Senate Bill 6874.
Overwhelmingly supported within the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire, this bill reduces the business and occupation excise tax on an industry fundamentally linked to sustaining the woods, waters and wildlife that draw rave reviews from tourists, while also ensuring a quality of life prized by Washingtonians. This important tax code change, championed by a coalition of elected officials, industry, labor unions, tribes and the environmental community, reduces the state tax burden on the forest-products industry, from logging to box manufacturing.
To be clear, the state hasn't given the industry a free pass in any respect. Forest-products companies will continue to make the significant economic contributions needed to fuel the state's economic engine. As the third-largest industrial sector in Washington's economy, forest-products companies large and small contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local taxes as well as payroll.
What state leaders have done is important, however, because the bill allows industry to make more capital available for investment to keep mills and operations viable at a time when the industry faces fierce and unprecedented global competition.
Today's forest-products industry is more competitive than ever. The marketplace is changing rapidly as our customers consolidate and demand new and innovative solutions to help them compete globally. We face competition from South America and other countries, where labor costs are low, trees grow fast and environmental regulations are less stringent and less costly than they are in the United States.
The survival of forest products and other industries in Washington depends on gaining the competitive edge in how we run our operations, train and empower employees, and address the changing needs of our customers. This tax code measure will help us achieve this competitive advantage. It's a smart investment in an industry with a proud past and promising future in the state.
We are grateful to know that the Legislature with the support of Gov. Gregoire voted to support a healthy forest economy, with sustainably managed forests and an efficient manufacturing base. This industry has a long history of coexisting with tourism, while contributing to our quality of life. For private forestland owners, the tax change decreases the likelihood that these working forests will become developed or converted to other uses.
Those responsible for this bold step forward deserve the gratitude of our industry and all Washingtonians who value the woods, waters and wildlife that make this a wonderful place for us to live and for the thousands of people who visit each year.
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