At Puget Sound Bank, we work every day with our local small and medium size businesses who have been realigning their budgets and priorities as a result of the recession. Therefore, it is nice to see our state Senate produce a budget that honors the spirit of our Washington small businesses, and keeps the promise made in 2010 that those higher B & O taxes on small businesses would, in fact, be temporary.

It’s not easy to craft such a budget. It is easier to keep the tax going once we’ve become accustomed to paying it.

After five years, the state’s income is back to its peak level. Tax collections for 2013 are basically the same as in 2008 at the height of the boom. It is, therefore, appropriate to bring the B & O tax back to the 2010 levels as the this was the original intent.

We are looking forward to this recovery and the return of prosperity to our community and our state. Giving people confidence in the promises of their government, and giving the middle class and small businesses more of their income to invest in growth and local job creation will create a snowball effect that will drive tax receipts up as economic activity blossoms.

The members of the Senate who have recognized this and crafted a budget accordingly deserve our praise and our support – and I am pleased to be counted among the appreciative local businesses saying, “Thank you” to our Senate for putting politics aside and doing the right thing.

Jim Mitchell, President & CEO, Puget Sound Bank