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Orcutt bill would reinstate
voter-approved
1 percent property tax limit
Restoring cap struck down by judge should be
‘no-brainer’ given
surplus in state treasury
Rep. Ed Orcutt
wants to protect taxpayers by reinstating Washington’s voter-approved
limit on property tax increases, struck down by a Seattle judge on a
technicality in June 2006. His House Bill 1170, filed Wednesday, will be
introduced officially Friday.
“The voters set the 1 percent limit, and the judge shouldn’t have thrown
it out. Her ruling is being appealed, but my bill is a quicker and surer
way for the Legislature to set things right and do what’s best for the
families and communities of our state. Also, this would prevent a lapse
in the law in the event that the state Supreme Court upholds last year’s
Superior Court ruling, and does so after the legislative session.
“It should be a no-brainer,” said Orcutt, R-Kalama.
Property tax increases were limited to 6 percent annually, without voter
approval, until Initiative 747 passed in 2001, lowering the limit to 1
percent without voter consent. The tax limit saved approximately $1
billion before the King County court ruling lifted the lid back to 6
percent.
“I have yet to hear the governor commit to restoring the 1 percent cap –
not last June, not in her State of the State speech Tuesday – even
though any move away from the 1 percent limit is a move toward a tax
increase,” Orcutt said. “I hope the members of the majority party in the
Legislature seize this opportunity to show leadership where the governor
has not.
“The Democrats wouldn’t go along with our request for a special
legislative session last spring to address the judge’s ruling. If they
won’t reinstate the voters’ own property tax limit now, when there’s
supposed to be a revenue surplus of nearly 2 billion dollars, what are
they saying to the taxpayers of our state?”
Orcutt noted property taxes literally hit people "where they live" –
it’s the only tax that can cause someone to lose his or her home. He
added that the I-747 tax limit has helped low-income and senior citizens
afford their property taxes and made housing more affordable.
Passing HB 1170 also would offer certainty to local governments, who
depend on accurate revenue projections when developing their budgets,
Orcutt said.
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