Car Tabs

The Legislature has approved a bill that would allow a county or city to add $20 to your Motor Vehicle Excise Tax without a vote.

If Bremerton were able to collect all the money from the program, it would get the city halfway to the point in which it could repave and repair its streets on a reasonably frequent basis, according to Public Works Director Phil Williams.

The city or county can also argue that at least the money is strictly directed to cover the cost of transportation.

But residents feeling stung by taxes in the first place, then miffed that the Port of Bremerton added a 45-cent per thousand tax to build the Bremerton Marina are in little mood to welcome any new charge.

Washington state tax gadfly Tim Eyman sent out a lengthy e-mail yesterday charging that the legislation is an insult to taxpayers who voted, twice, to keep tabs at $30.

“In 2002, the voters approved Initiative 776 which, among other things, stopped COUNTIES from unilaterally imposing a $15 per vehicle fee. The message was clear: no more car tab fees imposed by local governments and, no matter what, no higher car tab fees without a vote of the people. This bill replaces a smaller $15 fee with a larger $20 fee and, just to add insult to injury, expands the governments that can impose it, including BOTH counties AND cities. All without a vote of the people.”

The Northwest Progressive Institute countered that voters have shown a willingness to increase the MVET payments for transportation. The NWPI blog includes this:

“Of course Eyman would say that, but it’s certainly not an insult to taxpayers. The Legislature is acting on input gathered from the people of Washington State, who are tired of sitting in gridlock and desperate for transportation solutions.”

According to Ashley Probart from the Association of Washington Cities, the impetus for the bill came in Clark County in Southwest Washington, when the next best option for finding money for transportation projects was B&O taxes. Rather than saddling business with that tax, state Rep. Bill Fromhold, D-Vancouver, got this bill going.

Seven Kitsap legislators voted for the bill. One was excused from the vote. State Rep. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island voted “no.”

You can read Eyman’s e-mail and one by the NW Progressive Institute by clicking on the link below.

April 12 Northwest Progressive Institute e-mail

The Northwest Progressive Institute today commended the Legislature’s approval of a bill that allows local governments to authorize a motor vehicle excise tax to fund transportation improvements.

NPI’s Executive Director observed in a blog entry that recent polling shows voters are willing to pay an MVET in return for sorely needed roads transit upgrades – and noted that recent right wing initiatives to repeal taxes have been failures, a clear indication that the people of Washington want to invest in public infrastructure.

http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2007/04/taxpayers-willing-to-pay-motor-vehicle.html

Tim Eyman’s April 12 e-mail

Politicians’ lust for more tax dollars is insatiable. You’d think a whopping $2 billion tax surplus would deter them from jacking up taxes even higher and looking greedy. But they are simply shameless when it comes to their unquenchable thirst for higher taxes.

We’ve just learned that the House and Senate approved a bill to allow counties and cities to substantially increase car tab fees — WITHOUT A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE.

Now it’s up to Governor Gregoire to decide if she respects the voters or not (she hasn’t said whether or not she’ll sign the bill into law).

Flying under the radar screen for months (today’s Tacoma News Tribune article was the first story on this bill), House Bill 1858 is a triple insult to the taxpayers:

1) This bill violates the voters’ double decision on $30 car tabs (1999’s I-695 and 2002’s I-776)
2) This bill violates the Legislature’s decision in 2000 to set and keep car tabs at $30
3) This bill tells counties and cities they can unilaterally impose higher car tabs WITHOUT A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE

In 2002, the voters approved Initiative 776 which, among other things, stopped COUNTIES from unilaterally imposing a $15 per vehicle fee. The message was clear: no more car tab fees imposed by local governments and, no matter what, no higher car tab fees without a vote of the people. This bill replaces a smaller $15 fee with a larger $20 fee and, just to add insult to injury, expands the governments that can impose it, including BOTH counties AND cities. All without a vote of the people.

If Governor Gregoire signs this bill into law, she will be showing the highest level of contempt for the voters.

In addition, Olympia is diluting voter-approved Initiative 747’s 1% limit. Despite this limit being in effect for five years, we have yet to find any taxpayer who feels their property tax bill wasn’t high enough. All we hear from taxpayers are complaints of massive increases in property taxes. Again, this crushing property tax burden is occurring with I-747 in effect. Nonetheless, the Legislature is moving full steam ahead to pass Enhanced Senate Bill 5498 that makes it much, much easier for local
governments to increase property taxes even more.

If ESB 5498 is approved in both the House and Senate, Governor Gregoire will again decide whether she respects the voters or not.

It’s important to remember that candidate Gregoire promised, if elected, not to raise taxes. She broke that promise in the 2005 and 2006 legislative sessions. We’ll see how she does in 2007 when she decides the fate of anti-$30-Tabs HB 1858 and anti-1%-limit ESB 5498.