If aerospace jobs decline, should tax breaks be affected?
OLYMPIA — Five years ago, a citizens commission asked state lawmakers to decide whether tax breaks received by the Boeing Co. and other aerospace firms should be tied to the number of jobs provided, or not.
On Wednesday, the same panel asked again.
The five-member Citizens Commission for the Performance Measurement of Tax Preferences unanimously agreed tax preferences enacted in 2003 and extended in 2013 are providing good-paying jobs, lowering costs for business, and preserving the industry as a whole as lawmakers intended.
But commissioners were unable to assess if that suite of tax breaks is achieving a fourth goal, to “maintain and grow” the aerospace workforce. Employment in the industry is higher now than in 2003, but lower than in 2013. Absent a clear link between the tax breaks and job creation, they asked lawmakers — as they did in 2014 — for clarity.
“The tax preference continues to meet the majority of stated objectives,” commissioners concluded in a recommendation that will be sent to lawmakers. “However, the employment objectives are ambiguous. The commission recommends the Legislature clarify its position on employment levels.”
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