Postman on Politics
Chief political reporter David Postman explores state, regional and national politics.
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February 8, 2007 2:56 PM
Extending temporary taxes to pay for Sonics' arena
Posted by David Postman
I just saw the details from a spreadsheet the Sonics are circulating in Olympia on a proposed financing for a new arena. I haven't seen the actual bill. The financing plan seems very similar to what was proposed in 2005, and uses taxes created or increased to build a new ballpark for the Mariners and a stadium for the Seahawks.
It's a $423 million plan that extends or diverts a series of existing King County taxes.
The biggest piece would be $150 million from a 17-year extension on the sales tax credit the Legislature created to pay for Safeco Field. There's also $77 million that would come from extending the credit that was approved for Qwest Field an extra eight years.
The tax credits allow the county to keep a percentage of sales tax that otherwise would have been sent to the state.
The bill would also take some of a King County restaurant tax that is reportedly coming in faster than expected — it was passed to pay off Safeco bonds — as well as portions of the car rental and hotel/motel taxes increased for the baseball and football facilities.
UPDATE: We now have copies of the documents with details of the proposal. You can see the spreadsheet here and the summary of the bill here.
Mar 14, 08 - 04:21 PM
The blog is resting
Mar 13, 08 - 03:30 PM
Forget money for Sonics this year
Mar 13, 08 - 11:47 AM
GOP lawmakers, but not Rossi, praise gov's flood work
Mar 13, 08 - 08:36 AM
Supreme Court rules against random school searches
Mar 12, 08 - 03:35 PM
The gracious lobbying community

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