Tag Archives: jobs

Schoesler introduces bill to provide relief for employers on UI taxes

Sen. Mark Schoesler has introduced a bill that seeks to provide relief for Washington employers who are facing the possibility of paying higher unemployment-insurance taxes as they also struggle with the effects of the COVID-19 economic shutdown.

Senate Bill 5197 would adjust the calculation used to determine UI taxes. Much like a tuition cap gives certainty to families and students about the costs of higher education, Schoesler’s bill would create a cap on UI taxes to provide welcome stability for employers when it comes to this particular cost of doing business.

“The state’s unemployment insurance fund shrank significantly over the past year for a couple of reasons,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “The economic shutdown caused by COVID caused workers in our state to file a shockingly high number of unemployment claims – and then hundreds of millions of dollars were lost by our state Employment Security Department to foreign fraudsters. Now employers in Washington could be forced to pay more in unemployment insurance taxes, for reasons that aren’t their fault. My bill would at least provide some needed stability at a time when our job providers really need it.”

Schoesler, who owns and operates a wheat farm near Ritzville, says the past year has been especially difficult and unusual for most Washington employers.

“First the government forces so many of them to close, driving up the number of unemployment claims and draining the fund that pays those claims; then the government wants more tax to refill the fund! A local chamber member, who was forced to lay off people during the initial lockdown but hired them all back as soon as possible, told me their UI rate went from about .4% to nearly 4%. That’s as unfair as it gets.”

Schoesler said his bill is different than Gov. Jay Inslee’s requested legislation, SB 5061, which would reduce the financial pain for employers facing bigger UI taxes by spreading the increase out over a longer period.

“One thing that I don’t like about the governor’s proposal is that it also would increase UI benefits in conjunction with the tax hike and extend eligibility beyond layoffs to what are called ‘voluntary quits.’ That’s hardly a satisfactory solution, in my opinion,” said Schoesler.

The 9th District legislator is a co-sponsor of SB 5171, which would take $1 billion from the state’s rainy-day fund to help “backfill” the unemployment insurance money that had to be paid out so unexpectedly.

“Our state’s rainy-day fund was created so it can be used for real emergencies. It’s an appropriate source for this needed relief, and could make the difference between survival and failure for employers who are still hanging on,” said Schoesler.

SB 5197 has been referred to the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee. SB 5171 has been sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. No public hearing has been scheduled for either proposal.

Schoesler: Democrat tax increase will hurt rural Washington, key state industry

Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler blasted the Senate’s approval tonight of a bill that would raise fuel costs through a higher tax on one of the state’s leading industries and be particularly hard on rural Washington.

Substitute Senate Bill 5993 was passed virtually along party lines, 27-22. It now goes to the House for consideration.

During his floor speech opposing the bill, Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said he was voting against a war on rural Washington, higher taxes and oil refineries, an industry that provides family-wage jobs to many workers.

“This increase in the hazardous-substance tax is just the first of several massive tax increases planned by the Senate majority, even though the proponents say it’s ‘only’ $133 million in new taxes. Only $133 million,” said Schoesler. “It’s a continuation of the war on rural Washington. These refineries are primarily located in rural areas, with salaries that nothing else in those areas will match. The people who use heating oil don’t live in hip urban neighborhoods. They tend to live in small towns that you and many others have never heard of. They drive their cars long distances. They will be punished. Agriculture will be punished. This is part of a war on rural Washington that needs to stop.”

Schoesler said the bill would pull $475 million out of the state economy over the next two years, with little of this additional money going to toxic cleanups.

“It will hurt high-wage, blue-collar jobs in the oil industry, which in turn will have a ripple effect on local economies,” said Schoesler. “This proposal will result in higher fuel prices, which will especially hurt commuters and those who have to drive long distances. It will be like another gas tax on drivers without any benefit to roads. And it basically will allow the hazardous-substance tax to be indexed for inflation by growing upward. It’s just another way to squeeze more tax money out of Washingtonians under the guise of trying to clean up toxic substances.”

Of the $475 million in tax revenue on petroleum products that would be generated under SSB 5993 for the 2019-21 biennium, only $106 million – or 25 percent – would go to the state capital budget for toxic cleanup. Meanwhile, $255 million would go to the state operating budget. Of the revenue collected from the tax on petroleum products, only 15 percent would be devoted to stormwater-cleanup programs.

“In a session full of terrible bills passed by the Democratic majority in the Senate, this one is among the worst,” said Schoesler. “This bill offers a false promise. It is less about actually helping with toxic cleanups and more about pumping more money into the state’s operating and transportation budgets. It’s a step backward for actually cleaning up toxic sites in Washington.”

Republicans introduced several amendments to soften the proposal’s negative impacts, but majority Democrats defeated all of them. One amendment, offered by 42nd District Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, would have removed the annual inflationary growth factor from the tax rate.

Another amendment, sponsored by 13th District Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, sought to preserve an exemption for crop protection products, many of which are stored in Franklin County. Schoesler was especially disappointed by its defeat. “By rejecting that amendment, the majority eliminated a very useful and friendly exemption that served Franklin County and producers with safe crop production products across the state.”

The state model toxics control program is administered by the state Department of Ecology to ensure that most sites where hazardous substances were released are cleaned up. MCTA is funded by the hazardous-substance tax. About 95 percent of the revenue comes from the HST on petroleum products.

Schoesler introduces bill banning Seattle-style ‘jobs tax’ proposal statewide

As he promised last year, Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler has introduced a bill that would impose a statewide ban on future jobs-tax legislation similar to the so-called “head tax” that was approved, then repealed, by the Seattle City Council in mid-2018.

Schoesler’s proposal, Senate Bill 5589, would prohibit local taxes based on employee wages, employee hours or the number of employment positions.

“Let’s remember that although the Seattle jobs tax was repealed within a month of becoming law, that wasn’t due to concerns about the tax’s illegality, or a realization that it was the wrong way to address the city’s lack of affordable housing. The council reversed course after it became clear voters would likely reject it through a referendum,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville.

“This bill is needed because if Seattle erroneously thought it had the authority to impose a jobs tax, another city might try to go that route too. That would have a negative effect on working families and that community’s economy because it tells employers that their business is not appreciated.

“My bill will make it clear that any future taxing of jobs will be illegal,” added Schoesler. “It’s wrong for any city in Washington to undermine the jobs that working families depend on simply because of political ideology and a thirst for more revenue. And if cities want the Legislature’s help addressing the lack of affordable housing, they should support the package of Senate Republican legislation that gets at the fundamental question of supply and demand.”

The bipartisan bill has been sent to the Senate Local Government Committee for consideration.