Two legislators from the state House have thrown another tax proposal into the middle of the legislature’s overtime budget negotiations. Top House budget writer Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, and Rep. Larry Haler, R-Richland, proposed a bill (House Bill 2255) that would lift the 1 percent cap on local property tax levies.
Washington State voters approved the 1 percent cap when they passed Initiative 747 in 2001. The state Supreme Court struck down the cap in 2007, only to have lawmakers reinstate it that year during a special session, at the prodding of then-Governor Christine Gregoire.
The recently proposed bill “would replace the 1 percent property-tax cap with a formula tied to inflation and population growth.” Additionally, it would set a new property tax cap of a whopping 5%.
Thankfully, with a statewide transportation package that includes a gas tax on the table and with Democrats still pushing for a capital gains income tax, it isn’t likely the bill will get very far.
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