1.29.18

Suggested lead:  Efforts to boost businesses and help jobs flourish in rural Washington continue to take center stage at the state Capitol.  Dan Frizzell has that story.

Wrap (:64 total): Rural economic development seems to be the phrase on lots of lips in Olympia these days.  Representative Mike Chapman, a freshman Democrat from Port Angeles, is leading the charge with several pieces of promising legislation geared to help small businesses and create jobs in communities a long way from Seattle.  He’s also working a bill focusing on large-scale companies that may have soured on the big-city life.

CHAPMAN: “That is geared toward attracting manufacturers from the I-5 corridor into rural Washington by lowering the rate only in rural Washington.  Instead of a company maybe looking at Kent or Auburn, maybe they’ll say ‘you know what, it would be worth it to me to move my manufacturing business and continue to grow and expand and pay a lower tax rate.’” [:18]

The tax he’s hoping to reduce is the Washington’s B&O . . . which is also the target in his small business legislation.  If he’s successful, 80 percent of the small businesses in the state would see their B&O liability drop to zero, and others would enjoy a tax credit as large as $5000 a year.  None of his bills have hit the governor’s desk yet, but it’s only day 22 of the 60-day session.  In Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.