Short version: Reform B&O tax to be based on net instead of gross receipts; then work to eliminate it altogether. Reform workers' comp to eliminate fraud. Reduce taxes on all businesses, not just homegrown WA businesses. Reduce regulation. Simplify process for start-ups. Make WA a Right to Work state (cannot force union membership).

Our friends and families need jobs right away; the fastest way we can attract employers and help our local small businesses is by reducing tax and regulation burdens, beginning by restructuring the B&O tax. Three out of four Washington State legislators have never worked in the private sector, or created a dollar; as a teenager I worked with my younger brother and sister to farm 80 acres, from preparing the ground, to harvest, to deciding when to sell the grain so I could save for college. Hard work brings rewards, but not if government is failing to protect your liberty to create wealth. Washington’s economy is unnecessarily burdened; we were recently ranked the 40th best state for business, due to our high taxes and regulation._[1] States that have lower taxes attract businesses, keep businesses, and free up individuals to try their innovative ideas; even Cuba recognizes that lowering taxation frees an economy to grow. Seemingly ironically, this brings more money into the government coffers. In other words, our State Government is crippling itself by raising taxes._[2]If we made Snohomish County --or better yet, Washington State---a tax haven, business would pour in and our economy would surge. I saw it happen to Shenzhen, a Chinese city that tried a low-tax low-regulation strategy and immediately drew international businesses and created wealth for its people.

At an April 15, 2009, speech to over 400 citizens concerned about the economy, I listed cities, countries, and states that have spurred their economies by lowering taxes, including Texas, which has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state and was ranked the top state for business, four years in a row._[3] (Watch this speech on YouTube)

On July 9, the Economist_[4] said, “Texas also clearly offers a different model, based on small government...(while California’s) high taxes, coupled with intrusive regulation of business and greenery taken to silly extremes, have gradually strangled what was once America’s most dynamic state economy.” Clearly we need to follow Texas’ model to provide jobs and spur our economy.

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