Tag Archives: Property Tax

$6 billion property tax increase dead for now

Members of the Senate Republican Caucus have been warning the public about Senate Bill 5770, which would have imposed the largest property tax increase in state history, allowing local jurisdictions to triple the property tax growth rate without a vote of the people.

Sen. Judy Warnick offered this statement on the news from the bill’s prime sponsor that it won’t be coming up for a vote this year.

“This is good news for hard-working families in our state. At a time when communities across Washington are suffering from an affordability crisis, allowing local jurisdictions to unilaterally triple the growth of property taxes is plain wrong. People cannot afford it.

“As elected officials, we must be judicious with the public’s money and make tough spending decisions. Taxpayers aren’t an endless source of revenue. Local governments may feel like they need additional resources beyond the voter-approved 1% cap, but this is the wrong approach.

“This bill not coming up for a vote is a win for taxpayers and the democratic process.”

Watch the FOX 13 story on SB 5770.

Read more about SB 5770 on the Washington State Senate website.

$6 billion more in property taxes

The Legislature is poised to vote on one of the worst bills of the year. If approved, Senate Bill 5770 would allow annual growth rate of your local property taxes to triple. Local governments would be able to increase your property taxes by up to 3% WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL costing hardworking taxpayers $6 billion over 12 years and would compound from there.

In 2001, voters approved a 1% cap on property tax growth with Initiative 737. The state Supreme Court overturned that law but then Gov. Gregoire called the Legislature back into a special session where 85% of the House and Senate voted to reinstate the 1% limit.

Not only will this increase your property taxes if you are a homeowner, but it will also increase your rent as owners pass the tax on to tenants. Incredibly, the bill would also increase housing costs at senior living centers. Our state is in the throws of an affordable housing crisis and people simply cannot afford more taxes, especially while their paying higher prices on gas and home heating fuel thanks to other policies supported by the legislative majority.

During public hearings on the proposal, more than 9,300 people signed in to testify on SB 5770 and more than 92% OPPOSED increasing their property taxes.

There are plans to run the bill on the Senate floor soon. Senate Republicans held a news conference this morning to outline our opposition. You can watch the news conference on TVW by clicking here.

You can also watch it on our Facebook and X accounts @WashingtonSRC.

In my last newsletter, I included information about the proposed property tax hike. You can watch a short video that explains this proposal by clicking here or on the image below.

Turning up the dial on property taxes

Sb 5770