Tacoma considers cutting tax exemption for non-profit hospitals

The city of Tacoma is still millions of dollars in the hole and is looking to a couple of big, non-profit employers as a new source of tax revenue.

The city council is considering a plan to cut some of the 100 percent city business tax exemption enjoyed by non-profit health care providers.

The News Tribune reports that changing the tax exemption to 75 percent would bring in almost $1 million from MultiCare and the Franciscan Health System.

You might expect the big health care companies to fight any change in the tax exemption. But the city’s budget troubles are so severe that the non-profits are lobbying for a percentage cut so they don’t lose the exemption altogether.

During the last four months, the city council has managed to pare the projected budget deficit from $33 million to a bit less than $13 million.