We are now well into the 2020 legislative session. There was plenty of activity this week, including hearings and voting on bills in committees, as well as some time voting on a handful of bills on the floor of the Senate chamber.
One of the bills that was subject to the most debate this week was Senate Bill 6492. Despite continuing record tax collections by state government (approximately $1 billion in growth since last session alone), the majority introduced this measure to raise taxes on job creators by an additional $1 billion.
The bill is a reworking of a measure that was passed on the final day of the 2019 session but was so poorly drafted that it was basically unworkable. This year’s bill will actually raise even more money (again, $1 billion over 4 years compared to $773 million over 4 years with last year’s bill).
Members on our side of the aisle attempted to shield many businesses that can least afford the higher tax.
…Again and again, the majority Democrats said no, arguing that their 17% tax increase on job creators is actually a cut, because it is less than the 20 % tax hike they approved last year (and repealed only because it couldn’t be collected effectively).