SB 153: Do not extend this port property tax break
Testimony for Senate Finance and Revenue – Jody Wiser – 2.9.2021
No one appeared to support this tax break for the users of certain equipment at ports, so you have been given no rational public purpose that is being served by exempting rail shippers. Clearly it was designed to benefit rail-to-ship or ship-to-rail users at one or more ports, but without more knowledge, this tax break should not be extended.
We tax the equipment used to build our roads. We tax the leased equipment used in non-profit hospitals. We tax for-profit businesses that operate in state or locally-owned public buildings. Why would we not tax equipment used at a port by a for-profit business?
You could, with an amendment and simple majority vote, end it now, or wait and let it run out in 2023 when it is due to expire.