Washington Farm Bureau announces support for Initiative 1107
Washington Ag Today September 22, 2010 The board of directors of the Washington Farm Bureau has endorsed Initiative 1107, which would roll back certain tax increases imposed by the 2010 Legislature. That includes the so called “candy” tax, new taxes imposed on carbonated beverages, bottled water and foods defined as candy. However, Scott Dahlman, public policy analyst with the Farm Bureau, says less well known is that the Legislature also imposed a higher B&O tax on processors of some agricultural products containing fruits, meats, and vegetables, which includes canned soup and chili. Dahlman: “If chili was processed here in the state it would have that extra tax on it, but if it was processed out of the state it would not. Therefore it would give an incentive for processors to move out of Washington state. And the less processors we have here the less easy it is for our farmers to sell their goods to processors to have value-added products.” Washington Farm Bureau President Steve Appel says the Legislature tried to say that some agricultural products are less important than others, but, in reality, every locally grown commodity is important to family farmers and ranchers across the state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that Washington state is receiving 3.7 million dollars for 28 projects as part of the block grant program to increase the competitiveness of specialty crops. Washington was third in the total of funding going to 55 states coming in behind only California and Florida. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ? ?
