The share of property taxes paid by homeowners compared to commercial properties has increased significantly in recent decades. I proposed legislation to provide equitable tax relief by creating a homestead property tax exemption. The policy would exempt the first $100,000 of a homeowner’s assessed value from state property taxes.

If passed a home worth $200,000 would only be charged the value of $100,000 for state property taxes — a 50% reduction. By implementing this in a progressive manner instead of based on a tax rate, it would be much more impactful to lower value properties as compared to a $1 million home in Seattle that only sees a 10% reduction.

My proposal also includes enshrining this in our state’s constitution to protect this critical reform well into the future. This would result in a median value home in a majority of the state’s 39 counties seeing a 50% reduction in state property taxes. Rural communities where home values have not increased as much and where job opportunities are not as prevalent would see the greatest benefit.