Opinion: Senate Bill 5770 would overturn Initiative 747 passed by the voters in 2001

Mark Harmsworth of the Washington Policy Center says lawmakers need to get serious about housing affordability instead of hurting the homeowners and renters of Washington by arbitrarily increasing taxes.

Mark Harmsworth says lawmakers need to get serious about housing affordability instead of hurting the homeowners and renters of Washington by arbitrarily increasing taxes

Mark Harmsworth
Washington Policy Center

In 2001, Initiative 747, which limited property tax increases to 1% per year, was passed by the voters of Washington by a margin of 58% to 42%. Prior to passage of the initiative, cities and counties were able to raise property taxes by 6% per year and many cities and counties did so every year. After legal action struck the initiative down at the Washington Supreme Court, the legislature was called into special session by Governor Christine Gregoire and subsequently re-instated the cap with 85% of both chambers voting in the affirmative.

Now lawmakers in Olympia want to overturn the voted approved 1% and increase the cap to 3%.

Senate Bill 5770 (SB 5770), introduced by Senator Jamie Pederson last year, would not only set the 1% cap at 3%, but also would redefine the calculation used to define how the 3% cap is reached making it much easier for local officials to justify tax increases each year.

The Association of Washington Cities, which is funded in part with taxpayer dollars, is advocating for the tax increase.

Washington property owners already struggling with massive property tax increases, driven by high property values and tax increases over the last few years will see their taxes go up even further. Each year the 3% increase is applied would compound the revenue the state and local municipalities would receive and homeowners would pay. Estimates place the increase at $12 billion over the next 10 years.

The property tax increase will make housing less affordable, working against many other efforts to help reduce rental and mortgage costs.

The state is bringing in record tax revenues, for 2024 the estimate is $71 billion per bi-annum which is an increase of $27 billion over the last 5 years. The state does not need to increase property taxes. A property tax cut instead, evenly applied, would help with affordability in the rental and homeowner real estate market.

Lawmakers need to get serious about housing affordability instead of hurting the homeowners and renters of Washington by arbitrarily increasing taxes.

Mark Harmsworth is the director of the Small Business Center at the Washington Policy Center.