TACOMA, Wash. — Some state lawmakers want to increase the cap on your property taxes to triple its current limit.
This effectively nullifies a voter initiative passed 24 years ago.
State House Bill 1334 would replace Voter Initiative 747 passed back in 2001. The initiative capped property taxes at just one percent per year, below the rate of inflation. But state lawmakers say that is “knee-capping” local cities swamped with debt.
This could mean higher property taxes across the board.
It could indeed.
But local leaders, like here in Tacoma, say they need more money to fund priorities like public safety. That 24 years of trying to live within a one percent cap on property taxes is long enough.
Even before Washington was a state, owners of property were taxed to pay for public services. Those taxes were likely no more popular then than they are now.
“Do I get to come in here and tell them how much they can charge me for a bag of orange?” asked Denise Clark, Tacoma.
Clark stood outside a Southeast Tacoma grocery store.
“Then, I want to know where’s the one percent you’ve already gotten?” Clark asked. “Where did that go?”
She is referring to the one percent cap the state’s voters placed on property taxes each year in 2001.
“Having a one percent growth cap is kneecapping all of those (local) programs,” said State Representative Gerry Pollet from North Seattle, the main sponsor of House Bill 1334.
KIRO 7 asked: “Representative Pollet, can’t you ask voters to raise the cap now?”
Rep. Pollet replied: “Unless we did a statewide ballot initiative, we can’t go to two percent or anything except the one percent cap.”
Pollet says the bill would raise the property tax cap to a maximum of three percent with each municipality deciding how high to go, effectively ignoring voters wishes made 24 years ago.
“At the end of the day,” said Tacoma City Councilmember Joe Bushnell, (District 5), “it’s going to be up to local residents with their elected officials on whether that is appropriate or not to meet the needs of the residents.”
Still, it likely won’t be an easy sell among constituents like Stephanie Griffith.
“I can see that they may (need more tax revenue) because the area’s pretty bad,” said Griffith. “There’s other ways to get it.”
House Bill 1334 likely faces an uphill battle in the state legislature. A similar bill died in the Senate last year.
KIRO 7 will continue to follow this bill and let you know whether it becomes law.
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