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Ideas for changes
• A House Republican proposal to give $400 rebates to all homeowners.
• A Senate Republican proposal to phase out the state's share of property taxes.
• A variety of Democratic plans, including Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen's homestead exemption, which would shield the first $75,000 of property tax valuation on a primary residence from any tax. This would shift the burden to higher-value properties, particularly businesses.
• A proposal by Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, for a constitutional amendment that would limit annual increases in property valuation to 1 percent until a home is sold, similar to what California has done. Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, has a similar value-freeze concept in mind.
• A proposal from the Association of Washington Business for yearly assessments to smooth out spikes that distort valuations and for reducing the burden of proof for homeowners who challenge their assessments.
• A suggestion favored by cities and counties to let local governments raise taxes by more than the 1 percent cap without asking voters to approve. One idea is to tie yearly tax-collection growth to inflation, which is frequently higher than 1 percent — or find some way for the state to help with services in criminal justice or other areas that are costly for locals.
• A proposal to give homeowners a rebate when their property tax bills exceed 5 percent of their income. The Washington State Budget and Policy Center says rebates of up to $1,000 could cut taxes for the lower 40 percent of income earners, effectively giving a 12 percent to 15 percent tax cut.
The Olympian
Want more tax relief? Legislators will get back to you on that in 2008 ... or 2009
By Brad Shannon | The Olympian
Joining their call to do away with "banking" is Republican candidate for governor Dino Rossi, who wants Gregoire to make it her first priority in January.
House Speaker Frank Chopp has said it might be a problem but Gregoire is skeptical.
Julie Murray of the Washington State Association of Counties testified Thursday that "banking" is a form of rainy-day reserve for local governments, which are sometimes hard-pressed to deliver services.
Even if they don't get their way on "banking," Eyman and tax activists sound thrilled by what they see as a shift of the Democrats' agenda toward tax relief.
"It's huge, and they put down so many markers — 'it's just the beginning, it's just the beginning,' " Eyman said Friday during a victory lap around the Capitol's press corps. "In politics you're not supposed to raise expectations, but that's what they did."
Kessler, a Democrat, agreed that a shift is under way — predicting "lots and lots of discussion" of taxes in January.
"People are finally seeing it is a big deal. I don't know why they haven't before," she said of fellow House Democrats. "This is an issue where it's time for us to do some serious study. I don't think we would have seen an Eyman initiative if we had spent more time on it before."
There are plenty of other ideas out there — if the more than 50 property tax bills introduced in the 2007 regular legislative session are an indication.
Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, said there is a need for more flexibility for cities, counties and fire districts to keep up with inflation, since close to two-thirds of the revenue for counties comes from property taxes.
Democratic Sen. Jim Hargrove of Hoquiam pointed out in a floor speech Thursday that county budgets are more than 70 percent devoted to criminal justice, which needs to be funded.
Business groups led by the Association of Washington Business want yearly valuations to smooth out distortions in tax values. They also want to change the burden of proof, making it easier for property owners to challenge bad tax assessments.
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