January 19, 2007

OLYMPIA…Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, has filed a bill to amend the state constitution so property assessments can be reined in. 

“Home values can jump by thousands of dollars when reassessment follows a hot real estate market,” Benton said. “When this happens, people who have lived in their home for many years now have a home they couldn’t afford to buy, but they are taxed as if they could.” 

Benton’s measure makes property values on Jan. 1, 2008, the base from which to calculate reassessments, which are limited to 1 percent annually. Once a property is sold, it can be reassessed at its selling price; and the true and fair market value can be applied to new construction and improvements. 

Helping people stay in their homes by controlling huge spikes in property values that dramatically increase taxes is not a new issue for Benton. He has tried to force the Legislature to act for many years. He introduced legislation to control valuations in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004. 

“I see this issue as a huge problem that needs to be solved,” Benton said. “Home values are cyclical; they never have and never will level off. Sometimes values go up in small increments, and sometimes they take big leaps. But they all add up to more taxes and a bigger burden on families. This is just outrageous; we simply have to do something.” 

Benton’s bill is particularly timely since the real estate market in Washington is just coming down from a bullish cycle. Property taxes skyrocketed during this hot real estate market. 

Benton has also introduced a measure, Senate Bill 5001, to preserve the 1 percent limit on state and local property tax collections imposed by Initiative 747, which was approved by 57.5 percent of Washington’s voters in 2001.  

Last year, I-747 was thrown out on a technicality by a King County Superior Court judge. The state has appealed, but the initiative’s fate is uncertain. 

“There’s a simple fix for this problem that honors the voter’s wishes,” Benton said. “The Legislature just needs to put the cap into law, so I’ve sponsored a bill to do just that. Just like I-747, my bill says state and local property tax collections cannot exceed 1 percent of the previous year’s collections. If estimates show that they will, the property tax rate has to be adjusted downward to stay below the 1 percent cap.” 

Benton’s measure is a constitutional amendment. It requires a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate and a majority vote by the public at the next general election. 

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For more information contact Penny Drost
at (360) 786-7522 or penny.drost@leg.wa.gov