A bad bill Senate Democrats sponsored last year is being given a chance this year to move forward. Senate Bill 5770 would triple the 1% cap on the growth of local property taxes, taking $6 billion more of your money over the next 12 years.

It is likely to come to the Senate floor for debate and a vote.

You can still oppose the bill by contacting the offices of the 20 Democrats who sponsored the bill and tell them how you feel about it.

If the Senate votes on the bill and the majority passes it, it will go to the House of Representatives. If they decide to give the bill a hearing in the House, you would have another opportunity to testify against it or share written testimony. 

Democrats claim the money will pay for better law enforcement and more public school services for children with disabilities.

So why is this bill bad?

• Bottom line: Raising property taxes would make the affordability crisis in our state worse. Lifting the 1% cap on annual growth goes against the will of the voters.
• Government doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem.
• Tripling the property tax rate cap is just plain wrong. Can’t Washingtonians get a single year where Democrats aren’t digging deeper into their pockets?
• Democrat concern for public safety seems hollow given how their policies have gutted police departments, vilified law enforcement, put offenders’ rights above victims’ rights, and created a revolving door in our criminal justice system.
• Funding services for children with disabilities should NEVER depend on a new tax. These programs should be funded BEFORE other programs.
• Democrats like to say that additional money is needed to fund things we are already required to provide. Their tactic is to fund new spending out of the budget and say they need new money to fund core programs – to meet our Constitutional obligations. It’s manipulating the public into allowing them to grow spending.
• Property tax increases hit everyone. They hit seniors on fixed incomes, middle class families trying to afford higher prices on gas and groceries, and renters who will pay higher rents to cover the higher taxes housing providers have to pay on multi-family units.
• Increased property taxes also make inflation worse because business owners have to raise prices to cover the increased overhead.
• Higher property taxes translate into higher housing costs, for homeowners and renters alike. How can Democrats say they want to provide affordable housing while also making housing more expensive for everyone?
• We have a severe housing shortage. Owning a home is increasingly out of reach for many, even with rising incomes across the state, because they simply can’t save enough to break into the housing market. This makes the problem worse.
• Higher property taxes will put more people on the street.

Washingtonians can’t afford to have another $6 billion taken from them by the government! They are already having to go without on many essential items because prices are too high.

Government Revenue Growth Over Last Decade

1. State revenue: 6.5% avg annual growth
2. Five largest cities: 6.5% avg annual growth
3. 30 largest cities: 6.1% avg annual growth
4. Counties: 5.7% avg annual growth

Inflation average (2012-21):

• Implicit Price Deflator (IPD) = 1.6% avg annual growth
• Consumer Price Index (CPI) = 2.4% avg annual growth

STOP raising taxes.

STOP making housing even less affordable.

Fund priorities from existing revenue.

Provide meaningful tax RELIEF instead.