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by Sen. Val Stevens
Special to The Argus


In the past couple of months, I’ve asked hundreds of people in Skagit and Snohomish counties to tell me their No. 1 concern about state and local government.

Without a doubt, it’s high property taxes.

People, particularly those on fixed incomes, are concerned that they will someday be taxed out of their homes.

One retiree I met in Snohomish bought his house back in the early 1970s. Since then, his home has appreciated to an amount he couldn’t possibly afford to buy it at current prices. Yet, he is taxed on that property as if he purchased it yesterday. On his fixed income, he fears for the day when his taxes force him out of the home that took a lifetime to obtain.

It’s clear we must start demanding smaller government and lower property taxes. But first, it’s important to know how property taxes work in Washington.


Big government means big taxes

First of all, property taxes — like all taxes — are based on the size of government. The bigger the state and local government — the more you allow them to do for you — the bigger your taxes will be.

In 2005, Washington taxpayers paid $6.9 billion in property taxes. More than half of these funds — $3.8 billion — went to support K-12 education. Part of this money pays the state’s share of the cost and part of it pays the local share.

If your local schools want additional funds, they will put it on the ballot and you can vote to raise your property taxes to cover their request — or not.

In Washington, single family homes account for a whopping 72 percent of property taxes, which is a major part of the problem. Homeowners carry most of the property tax burden.

Paying property taxes is hard enough for working families, but it is extremely difficult for seniors and the disabled, who very often live on small fixed incomes.



Our seniors need help



Current law allows seniors and the disabled to deduct the cost of two things from their property tax total: prescription drugs and the cost of caring for a spouse in a nursing home. While that’s good, it’s not nearly enough when you consider typical medical expenses.

Last year, in an attempt to help seniors remain in their homes, Republicans introduced a bill that would also allow them to deduct insurance premiums and co-payments for health care, vision care and dental care, durable medical equipment, mobility enhancing equipment and insurance premiums for long-term care.

We believe that adding these deductions just might be enough to allow those on fixed incomes to retain their homes.

We were hopeful that the Democrat majority would join us to enact this property tax relief legislation because, during the November 2007 special session to reinstate Initiative 747, they promised they would address property taxes in 2008.

In the end, the Democrats did not follow through with their promise. They ignored the proposal to help seniors, along with several other excellent property tax reforms.



Another lost opportunity



The sad thing to me is that the state had almost $2 billion in unexpected revenues at the start of the 2007 session. Senate Republicans wanted to give much of that money back to the taxpayers — in the form of property tax relief.

In fact, we proposed reducing the state property tax in 2008 and 2009, giving property owners $1.4 billion in property tax relief! After all, the $2 billion surplus came from Washington’s booming real estate market — largely single family homes.

So, instead of giving back the extra money that belonged to homeowners, the majority spent it on more government programs.

Unfortunately, these government programs are ongoing. The $2 billion surplus was enough to start the programs, and perhaps run them for a single year, but the state will need more money from you to keep them going.

And that’s exactly how our taxes — including property taxes — keep going up and up.



What you can do



The Senate Ways and Means Committee will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon. They’ll be hearing public comment on property taxes, and asking if you need relief. If you’re concerned about your property tax bill, here’s a golden opportunity to stand up and be counted.

Thus far, hungry local governments and powerful special interests have captured this committee’s full attention.

Only you, the citizen, can tell your story in a way that can’t be ignored.

I’ll be there to cheer you on.



Sen. Stevens represents the 39th Legislative District, which includes part of rural King, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.