From Taxes to Talent: Highlights from Today’s Eastside Business Round Table

Reps. Janice Zahn and Larry Springer joined our president and CEO Joe Fain and RBC Wealth Management’s Hannah Grossblatt for a fast, practical look at what matters most to Eastside employers in the year ahead. The conversation centered on predictability in the tax environment, housing supply, workforce readiness, and the infrastructure that keeps growth moving.

Predictability in the tax climate

Attendees dug into how last-minute revenue ideas create planning whiplash and what a steadier approach could look like. Discussion touched on statewide payroll and income-tax concepts, the risk of crediting city taxes against a state levy, and the bigger point that uncertainty chills expansion even when companies stay put. The takeaway was simple. Stability helps firms choose Washington for their next team, not just their current one.

Housing supply and permitting cleanup

The room connected talent retention to where people can afford to live. Speakers noted underbuilding across the region and how well-intended but exclusionary requirements can stall projects and drain pipelines. Interest was high in pragmatic fixes that reduce friction so more homes get built near jobs. Supply!

Workforce, childcare, and K-12 outcomes

Childcare came up as basic hiring infrastructure, not a nice-to-have. Panelists linked employer needs with training models that move people into good jobs quickly, alongside concern that key K-12 performance metrics have slid despite higher spending. The thread tying it together was outcomes. State leaders must align education pathways with the jobs our region actually offers.

Infrastructure and energy as growth enablers

Growth only works when the basics do. The conversation surfaced grid capacity as a real constraint and flagged aging bridges that need attention. A more deliberate economic development plan and timely investments were framed as the backbone for private-sector momentum.

Balancing the books while improving services

Budget talk focused on the math of matching priorities to revenues and on making government more efficient so dollars go farther. The business community took a beating last year, and the economic head winds in Washington are growing. Both legislators took a pragmatic lens on the problem statement. 

The Conversation was punchy, specific, and captivating. But you don't get to know all the specifics because you weren't there. Want to fix that? Find out how.