A tax bill that would cut the amount of taxes Snohomish County gets from Quil Ceda Village was pulled from a public hearing before a state Senate committee Wednesday, and will be heard Friday instead.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee will consider House Bill 1721, which seeks to cut the amount of taxes the county gets by more than $12 million during the next six years and give more of the money to the Tulalip Tribes.
County officials oppose the measure.
County Councilman John Koster, whose district includes Quil Ceda Village and the Tulalip Indian Reservation, is scheduled to testify at the hearing.
The measure was pulled from Wednesday’s agenda because one of the people scheduled to testify had scheduling problems and could not attend, according to staff members for Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Seattle, the committee chairwoman.
Statewide, cities and counties share a portion of sales tax revenues generated within their boundaries with the state.
Quil Ceda Village was chartered as a consolidated borough, and the Tulalips provide and paid for many of the services there, much like other cities.
Supporters say the tribes should get a portion of the tax revenue from businesses there. Quil Ceda Village has been approved by the federal government as a political subdivision of the Tulalip Tribes. The Tulalips are a sovereign nation.
Opponents say Quil Ceda Village isn’t set up like a city, and no one lives there.
The bill would allocate .85 percent of sales tax revenues to the Tulalips, which would reduce the county’s share from 2 percent to 1.15 percent – an estimated $1.7 million in 2006. The state’s share would remain at 6.5 percent.
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