Are we courting another 'love letter'?

This editorial appears in the March 11, 2010, Yakima Herald-Republic.

It's nice to see only hours before the Legislature hits the "buy" button to increase taxes that the governors of Idaho and Washington are trading barbs across state lines. Couldn't they find better things to do?

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter got the ball rolling Monday with what he called a "love letter" to businesses in Washington, trying to entice them to his state in the likely event tax increases are approved in Olympia. He called his state business-friendly with "communities where people understand that while government cannot be the solution to their problems, it can and must be a champion for their own solutions."

Not to be outflanked, Gov. Chris Gregoire volleyed back Tuesday, reminding Otter that Washington rates much higher than Idaho according to the latest rankings by Forbes Magazine.

"We're now the second best state in the country and they went from seventh to 11th," Gregoire told reporters. "They're going down in the rankings. Regulatory environment we're ranked 5th, they're ranked 35th. You get my point?"

Nice rhetorical repartee, but it still doesn't help square with what's going on behind closed doors in Olympia, where Democrats are hammering out a tax package to deal with a $2.8 billion budget shortfall. The House has come out with a $680 million tax package filled with a lengthy list of tax exemptions to be wiped out and ways to collect more revenue from smokers, lawyers, accountants and out-of-state businesses.

The Senate has an even heftier tax package, weighing in at $890 million. The centerpiece is a 0.3-point increase in the general sales tax.

In the scheme of things, the sales tax increase may not appear to be too much. But every little bit matters.

Take Seattle, for instance. According to The Seattle Times, if lawmakers were too bump up the state portion of the sales tax to 6.8 percent, that would put Seattle into a league of its own. At 9.8 percent, it would have the highest rate of any major city in the United States -- higher than Los Angeles and Chicago, which both have a 9.75 percent rate.

For the city of Yakima, the sales tax rate would jump from 8.2 percent to 8.5 percent. That's only a few ticks away from New York City's 8.875 percent. While Yakima may like to think of itself as the Big Apple in this state, we doubt city backers want to be on the same page as Gotham when it comes to taxes.

Lawmakers find it hard to resist sweeping measures like the sales tax as a way to bridge a budget gap. While it may appear equitable on the surface, it's a particularly cruel tax that dampens spending and proportionately hurts those who are least able to afford it.

We hope a sales tax increase gets what it deserves: the boot. The last thing this state needs is another "love letter" from Idaho.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.