Q*K
发帖数: 3464 | 1 SEATTLE—A proposed income tax on the wealthy in Washington state is
spurring a debate over the region's economic future and dividing some of its
most prominent figures, including Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve
Ballmer and William Gates Sr., the father of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.
If Washington voters approve the measure, known as initiative 1098, on
Tuesday, it will be the first income tax in the state. No income-tax-free
state has passed one since the early 1990s.
The proposal calls for a 5% tax on income over $200,000 for individuals and
over $400,000 for couples. That would rise to a 9% tax on income over $500,
000 for individuals and over $1 million for couples.
Washington's office of financial management estimates the tax will raise
more than $2 billion a year, with 70% of it targeted for education and 30%
for healthcare services. The measure would also cut state property taxes and
increase credits on a business tax, both designed to help the state's
middle class and small businesses.
But the proposal has split Washington's business scene, particularly within
Seattle's circle of technology entrepreneurs. The measure's co-author is Mr.
Gates Sr., who has donated $600,000 to the campaign to pass 1098, according
to state political contribution records. An attorney and elder statesmen in
Washington, Mr. Gates Sr. has advocated the tax in numerous public debates,
television ads and opinion pieces. Unions have also been big financial
backers of the initiative.
The measure's opponents say it will strip Washington of one of its most
attractive perks in attracting talent to the area, especially from nearby
California, which has one of the nation's highest state income taxes.
"We're one-tenth the size of Silicon Valley," said Matt McIlwain, a managing
director at Madrona Venture Group, a venture-capital firm that backed
Amazon.com Inc. and others. "We need a competitive advantage to get people
moving hundreds of miles to the north."
In a debate late last month, Mr. Gates Sr. said the state's lack of an
income tax isn't a "major ingredient" for drawing business talent to the
state, including his own son's decision to move Microsoft to Washington in
the 1980s. "It had nothing to do with tax structure," he said. "It had to do
with an educated workforce, particularly people sophisticated about
software."
A spokesman for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation declined to make the
younger Mr. Gates, who plans to vote for the measure, available for an
interview.
The biggest donor to the campaign to defeat the measure is Microsoft CEO Mr.
Ballmer, who has contributed $425,000. Paul Allen, another co-founder of
Microsoft, has donated $100,000 to the group, according to state records.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is another big backer of the effort to defeat the tax,
as are a number of companies, including Microsoft and Boeing Corp.
Mr. Ballmer through a spokesman declined to comment, and a spokeswoman for
Mr. Bezos didn't respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Allen
said he believes the tax, if passed, will "make it difficult to recruit
highly skilled, highly compensated, employees."
A report this week by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation said Washington scored
as the 11th best state in business tax climate as of July, but would have
ranked 48th had the current measure been in effect.
In a move to exploit unease about the measure, the Republican governor of
Texas, Rick Perry, last week sent a letter to executives at 88 of Washington
state's biggest employers—including Microsoft, Starbucks Corp. and Amazon-
-citing the proposed income tax as a reason to relocate to the Lone Star
State, which has no such tax. In addition to Washington and Texas, five
other states —Alaska, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada and Wyoming—have no
income tax, while New Hampshire and Tennessee tax dividends and interest
income.
A big backer of 1098, Nick Hanauer, a Seattle venture capitalist who was
also an early investor in Amazon, says Silicon Valley would have long ago
lost its edge if state income taxes were that important for attracting
talent.
"Rich people have been making excuses for generations about why they shouldn
't have to pay their fair share," he said. "I can't peer into their souls,
but that's what this is about."
According to a poll conducted during the first two weeks of the month by the
Washington Poll, 51% of respondents said they planned to vote against the
measure, while 42% planned to vote yes and 7% were undecided.
To shore up support for the measure, its supporters have sought to
neutralize one of the main concerns raised by their opponents—that the
state legislature in Olympia will eventually expand the tax beyond high
earners to include everyone. Last weekend, Mr. Gates Sr., Mr. Hanauer and
other backers of the measure pledged in a full-page ad in the Seattle Times
to block any such attempt by the state legislature with a new ballot measure
. | Q*K
发帖数: 3464 | 2 bg还拒绝接受采访呢
他估计也知道这against Microsoft的利益
真是个变态，自己跟自己创立的企业过不去
还是SB同学深明大义，呵呵
没准儿是跟bg唱双簧？
its
.
and
【在 Q*K 的大作中提到】
: SEATTLE—A proposed income tax on the wealthy in Washington state is
: spurring a debate over the region's economic future and dividing some of its
: most prominent figures, including Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve
: Ballmer and William Gates Sr., the father of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.
: If Washington voters approve the measure, known as initiative 1098, on
: Tuesday, it will be the first income tax in the state. No income-tax-free
: state has passed one since the early 1990s.
: The proposal calls for a 5% tax on income over $200,000 for individuals and
: over $400,000 for couples. That would rise to a 9% tax on income over $500,
: 000 for individuals and over $1 million for couples.
| P***t
发帖数: 1006 | 3 Finally SB did a good thing for MSFT. |
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