No offense intended, but Rep. Jim McIntire, D-Seattle, has come up with a really dumb idea.

McIntire, a University of Washington instructor, wants to eliminate all existing tax exemptions. More precisely, he introduced a 59-page bill that sets up a complicated system of reviews, studies, committees and hearings on each and every exemption on the books, and if the Legislature fails to extend the exemption, it would expire in three years.

At first glance, McIntire’s proposal might sound reasonable to some people, especially as lawmakers seek to fill the state’s $1.25 billion budget gap. Until you look at the facts.

Ninety-three percent of the tax exemptions on the books in Washington state benefit individuals, churches and charities, or are mandated by federal law and the state Constitution.

So, what would we get if we eliminated all the exemptions? A partial list includes:

* Taxes on property owned by churches, charities and nonprofit groups like the Red Cross, blood banks, day-care centers, libraries, orphanages, nonprofit hospitals, nursing homes, homeless shelters, performing arts centers, low-income rental housing, nonprofit fund-raising and credit unions.

* Sales tax on gasoline.

* Sales tax on tuition.

* Sales tax on professional services such as doctors, counselors, dentists and attorneys.

* Personal property tax on our savings accounts and computer software.

* Property taxes on public buildings, private schools and universities’ stadiums and senior citizens’ homes.

* Personal property tax on the first $3,000 of value on our furniture, appliances, rugs and other household goods.

In addition, eliminating all tax exemptions would do away with tax credits for renewable energy, job training services and ride-sharing incentives.

And if saving money is McIntire’s goal, his proposal has another problem. Some of the most significant business tax exemptions on the books bring in much more revenue than they cost.

For example, studies show that between 1995 and 1999, the sales tax exemption on manufacturing machinery and equipment (M&E) created 58,100 new jobs and stimulated billions of dollars in new investment. In fact, the Department of Revenue agrees that the exemption’s benefits far outweigh its costs.

WaferTech officials say the M&E exemption was a key reason the company located in Washington. Without it, in all likelihood the 1 million-square-foot Vancouver complex and approximately 900 jobs would probably be in Oregon.

Eliminating tax exemptions is not the answer to the state’s budget woes. Apparently that’s obvious to everyone except McIntire, because not a single legislator signed on to co-sponsor his bill. It is a dumb idea!

Don Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business. You can learn more about the organization on the Web at www.awb.org.