Package with $20 billion in new, higher taxes includes removing cap on how much government can raise property taxes without a vote of the people

In response to legislative Democrats’ $20 billion tax proposal, Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, criticized the plan for dramatically increasing the amount that state and local governments can raise property taxes without voter approval.

Announced Thursday, the proposal is meant to cover a $6.6 billion budget gap—an amount that Democrats have deliberately inflated to more than $15 billion.

During the 2023-24 legislative term and the current session, Democrats pushed legislation that would have tripled the limit on property tax increases without voter consent—to 3% annually, instead of the 1% limit in place since 2001. Although those efforts failed to advance due to strong opposition, Democrats have now doubled down with an even more aggressive plan.

Their new proposal would allow both state and local governments to increase annual property taxes based on inflation and population growth—resulting in an effective 4.5% annual increase. Over time, this would lead to an increase of more than a billion dollars in property taxes every year, year after year.

Find more details on Democrats’ tax plans at TaxMadness.com.

“This is going to blow the doors off your current property taxes. If this policy had been in effect over the past few years, you’d be paying double the property taxes you are now. People can’t afford that. Some will be taxed out of their homes, losing the stability and opportunity for generational wealth that homeownership provides. Many elderly and low-income homeowners will be left out in the cold.

“If you think rents are high now, wait until property taxes skyrocket. Housing providers will pass a 4.5% annual property tax increase onto their tenants, making evictions more frequent and homelessness far worse. And if rent control becomes law this year, renters will still end up on the street because property owners who can’t recoup the higher taxes through higher rents will be forced to sell. We’re still experiencing a housing crisis, but Democrats keep increasing the cost of housing.”

Braun also warned that the Democrats’ tax proposal would pave the way for billions in new spending while other majority legislation would leave the state vulnerable by draining its emergency reserves.

“In addition to raising taxes by more than they originally claimed is necessary, the majority is giving itself room to increase spending by billions of dollars. Even worse, they’ve introduced legislation (SB 5392) to raid the state’s ‘rainy-day fund’—the account we rely on for emergencies, disasters, and recessions. The Democrat state treasurer has warned against depleting the state’s safety net, but those warnings have fallen on deaf ears. Billions in higher taxes, billions in new spending, and leaving the state without any reserves is a recipe for disaster.

“This tax proposal is a bad idea. It’s bad for Washington and bad for Washington’s citizens.”

Watch Sen. Braun share his concerns about the Democrat property tax increase.

Information provided by Washington State Senate Republicans.

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