Comments on The Sleepytime Express

What if they gave a hearing and everyone did come, but the powers that be built a stadium instead (that the voters didn't want) ...

Ok..and people wonder why there's anti-tax zealots out there...this is a prime example of why. Shouldnt the excess revenue from the tax just gone to actually pay off the bonds early instead of funding something entirely different than what it was meant to be for? Now this tax has basically changed into something entirely different and the tax will never go away. The tax was never meant to be permanent.

Brian, you don't understand the taxing mechanism at work here. The bonds ARE being paid off on-schedule, and in the necessary amounts. The 2% for Arts portion of the Hotel/Motel tax is an add-on, that has no effect on the bond repayment schedule whatsoever.

Conversely, if the 2% add-on were shot down tomorrow, not a single additional penny would go toward bond repayment; it would just disappear completely - phffft!

And you know the best part? Unless you spend an inordinate amount of time hanging out in hotel/motel rooms, or eating in restaurants, you're not getting dinged for the tax, which is mostly being paid for out of the pockets of visitors to Seattle, rather than residents.

I must not have understood the wording correctly in the post than. The way I read her post was that in 1989 a 2 percent tax in King county was passed to pay down debt on the Kingdome, nothing else. Excess revenue(above and beyond what was needed to pay off the bonds, basically more than the minimum payment needed is being used to fund the arts). Am I wrong in this? The 2 percent is an add on to the existing tax already or no?

I did try to go and read the bill but wasn't able to make heads or tails of the different sections of it.

I must not have understood the wording correctly in the post than. The way I read her post was that in 1989 a 2 percent tax in King county was passed to pay down debt on the Kingdome, nothing else. Excess revenue(above and beyond what was needed to pay off the bonds, basically more than the minimum payment needed is being used to fund the arts). Am I wrong in this? The 2 percent is an add on to the existing tax already or no?

I did try to go and read the bill but wasn't able to make heads or tails of the different sections of it.

Well, I found my answer on a Nick Licata's web page on an entry from 2005.

www.seattle.gov/council/licata/up/up_190.htm

So basically farther down the page, it goes into some background on the hotel motel tax..

"The hotel-motel tax is a 2% County tax on lodgings within the County. From 2001 to 2003, the tax has raised between $12.7 and $13.9 million annually. The first $5.3 million collected is reserved for retiring the Kingdome debt. Under state law, the rest is divided as follows:

- From 1992 to the end of 2000, 75% to arts, culture and heritage, 25% to stadium purposes, open space acquisition, youth sports, and tourism;

- From 2001 to the end of 2012, 70% for arts, culture and heritage, 30% to stadium purposes, open space acquisition, youth sports, and tourism;

- In addition, from 2001 to 2012, at least 40% of the 70% reserved for arts, culture and heritage is to be deposited in an account to establish an endowment;

From 2013 to 2014, the entire proceeds are reserved for retiring the Kingdome debt.

- From 2015-2020, pay for Qwest Field construction bonds

Granted, I dont know the specifics of the Kingdome's finances, but if there was that much excess tax revenue being collected over the 5.3 million dollar required for the Kingdome debt, why didnt the county just pay off the thing early and get out of the debt entirely???? How much more interest was paid on the bonds because of that over the last 20 years?

@3 - so basically it's a tax on gay people then?

Next time they should provide dream-liners with recliners. You know your region's hit the bigtime when even the activists are spoiled. Thanks to all who f#$kin went!!! ;)