Fun_People Archive
11 Sep
Car Rental Taxes in Washington

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 98 11:08:18 -0700
To: Fun_People
Precedence: bulk
Subject: Car Rental Taxes in Washington

X-Lib-of-Cong-ISSN: 1098-7649
From: Tresy Kilbourne <tresyk@halcyon.com>

>Was standing in line to check out and
>talking with a microshaftie (<shudder>) who told me that in Washington
>state the tax on a car rental is a whopping 30% ...
>1. Anyone able to confirm that number?

Sort of. I live in Washington, but have not had occasion to rent a car so
my information is hearsay. A friend who does have occasion to rent cars says
it's 25%. This is a tax levied to pay for one of TWO stadiums we're busy
building for our two mediocre sports teams. The other stadium is being
financed in part by a hike in the tax on takeaway beverages. A cup of
Starbuck's comes with a nearly 10% tax. Meanwhile bonds on the Kingdome,
former home of both teams, are still being repaid.  It will be henceforth
be used for monster truck rallies and boat shows.

An ironic sidelight: after a two-year browbeating about the need to keep
the Mariners here (the owner threatened to take the team elsewhere if he
didn't get a new stadium), with lots of appeals to Mom & apple pie, citizens
learned, once the stadium was under way, that all the season tickets for
the prime seats behind home plate would henceforth be "licensed" to the
holders. Price tag for license: $20K. After you pony up the $20K, THEN you
get to pay for the seats, which will run in the hundreds of dollars per
game. Season ticket holders who don't like that arrangement can move to the
bleachers and make room for the lobbyists for Boeing and Weyerhauser.

Final ironic sidelight: under the terms of the financing package the
Mariners have to contribute a portion of the stadium costs (though cost
overruns, which have already begun, are the people's lookout, natch). The
Mariners promptly met this responsibility by auctioning off the stadium's
name. Once complete the stadium will be known as Safeco Stadium, after a
local insurance behemoth.

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack....

_________
Tresy Kilbourne, Seattle WA

© 1998 Peter Langston