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Monday, November 28, 2011

Boat Show tickets go on sale this week

Three Sheets NW (www.threesheetsnw.com) has all the details

 Link: http://tinyurl.com/6rvnqvw


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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Special Session starts next week

If you’ve seen the newspapers today, then you probably saw something about a sales-tax increase. That’s because Governor Gregoire made news yesterday when she proposed an "all-cuts" budget to deal with the $2 billion shortfall that awaits legislators when they return for a special session next week.

The .05% sales-tax increase would be something voters would vote on in March. If we agreed to tax ourselves, then this $500 million in new revenue would allow the legislature to buy back the very services that were cut. This tax would last three years and then be set to expire.

The short of it is that Governor Gregoire is asking the legislature to cut $2 billion and then the voters will approve a $500 million tax to buy back some of the $2 billion in cuts.

There was some speculation that the governor would look to remove the trade-in deduction for boat purchases as well as a place a luxury tax on boat purchases. Thankfully, both of those measures did not make her list. That doesn't mean that we are home free, however, as the governor doesn’t write the budget (although she does have a loud microphone). That’s the legislature’s job. Certainly, it's better to be in a starting point where we find ourselves, but it's important to note that the budget process is a long, windy road, which we will be watching from Olympia every day.


Governor Gregoire’s Press Conference: link


Reactions from key lawmakers, including Rep. Ross Hunter who attended NMTA’s forum in Belleuve last week here: Reactions To Governor's Budget Proposal


Speaker Chopp’s reaction here.


More coverage on the press conference from the Seattle Times and Tacoma News Tribune

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Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Tomorrow's Marina & Boatyard Conference

If you are fortunate enough to have reserved a spot at the sold-out NW Marina & Boatyard Conference, presented by Marine Floats, then you know that it begins tomorrow at 10:00 am with a welcome from NMTA's George Harris.

The location is Maple Hall (104 Commercial/ La Conner WA). If you need specific directions or assistance, you can phone Peter Schrappen at 206.661.7855

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