Panel: How are Boeing’s $8.7B tax breaks paying off?

A smart group of ordinary folks, entrusted to advise state lawmakers on the merit of tax breaks, has a suggestion regarding the jumbo incentives enjoyed by the Boeing Co. and the rest of the aerospace industry:

Figure out how we’ll know when they stop paying off.

The five-member panel with a mouthful of title — the Citizen’s Commission for Performance Measurement of Tax Preferencesconcluded last week that Washington needs a clear means of measuring benefits received from $8.7 billion in tax savings Boeing stands to covet over the next couple of decades.

On a 4-1 vote, the commission recommended that the Legislature “establish specific economic development metrics and reporting mechanisms” for the tax breaks, which are intended to help the aerospace industry grow.

Commissioners didn’t spell out what they thought those “specific metrics” should include, cognizant of the difficulty faced by lawmakers in devising any degree of check on tax breaks.

They are counting on their broadly worded recommendation to spark a conversation in Olympia. The tax breaks are so big that they shouldn’t be given out unless their value can be justified with an objective measuring stick, commissioners said before the vote.

Leaders of two unions wanted the panel to be bolder — to endorse a requirement that Boeing maintain a minimum number of jobs to receive every dollar of tax savings.

Though that didn’t happen, representatives of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) applauded the commission’s recommendation.

“This is really the first look at the public’s evaluation of the tax preference legislation. As such, we find the commission’s recommendation an encouraging step toward accountability,” SPEEA spokesman Bill Dugovich wrote in an email.

Larry Brown, IAM’s political director, said the citizen panel is “trying to get closer to where we’d like to see the state when they give tax preferences. We appreciate the progress they’re making but there’s more work to be done.”

The extent of that “work” will be the topic next week when union leaders meet with Gov. Jay Inslee.

Union leaders are crafting a bill dubbed the “Aerospace Tax Incentive Accountability Act,” which they hope will link the quantity and wages of jobs in aerospace with tax preferences. They want to make sure firms can’t lay off or move workers — as Boeing has done to thousands of engineers in the past 18 months — without some financial repercussion.

They’ve lined up a few friendlies in the House and Senate, but the governor isn’t rushing to get on board.

The citizen commission’s recommendation could bolster their pitch.

“The intent of the Washington legislation was to grow our state’s aerospace industry,” Dugovich said of the tax breaks. “The commission’s recommendation is appropriate — the Legislature needs to ensure tax breaks build our state’s aerospace industry and it’s done with jobs that adhere to established wage standards.”

Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com and on Twitter at @dospueblos.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.