Tag Archives: property tax

NEWSLETTER: Taxing seniors in nursing homes and their families

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Over the past year, I’ve written to you multiple times about the new and higher taxes Democrats sought to impose. While Senate Republicans successfully fought off billions of dollars’ worth of harmful tax proposals, the Democrat majority still managed to push several across the finish line.

Many of these new taxes have already taken effect—or will soon.

One of the worst, and least known, is a steep per-bed tax hike on nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Depending on the type of facility, the tax rate is doubling or even tripling. That amounts to an extra $126 million burden to our long-term care system over the next four years. Rather than cover that cost, the state is forcing care centers to pass it along to their most vulnerable residents—aging, sick, and dying Washingtonians—and the families who support them.

The irony? The vast majority of workers in our state are already being taxed through their paychecks for “Washington Cares,” a long-term care program Democrats claimed would ease costs. But by increasing the cost of care through this new tax, they’ve made that already-weak benefit even less meaningful. Their own actions undercut the very justification they gave for the program.

It didn’t have to be this way.

Senate Republicans proposed a balanced, responsible budget that didn’t raise a single tax and didn’t cut a single service. But when the opportunity came to debate it on the Senate floor, every single Democrat voted “no.”

Instead, the majority passed a bloated $78 billion budget that hikes taxes by $12.5 billion and cuts billions from essential services. The budget cut funding for the completion of a new 45-bed psychiatric facility and a governor’s veto ended funding for a care center for drug-addicted newborns and. Those critical services were traded away for $4.5 billion in new spending.

To make matters worse, their budget is already out of balance—just months after it passed—thanks to the latest state revenue forecast. The result? The governor is now contemplating calling for a special session to “fix” what Democrats broke.

And how do they plan to fix it? By raising even more taxes and cutting even more services.

I must ask the question: How much of your money is enough? Who will they burden next? How many more vulnerable people will suffer because Democrats insist on taking more and delivering less?

If a special session is called, I’ll make sure you know—because you’ll want to pay close attention to the excuses they give for taking even more from taxpayers.

Had the Senate Republican budget been adopted, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

And if Republicans were in the majority, the budget never would have been $7.5 billion in the red to begin with (to set the record straight, the budget shortfall was NEVER $16 billion; Democrats made that number up, and they’re still using it)

You may learn more about the taxes now taking effect by visiting our website.

If you have questions, you may email me at john.braun@leg.wa.gov.

Sincerely,

John Braun

Sales tax increases too?

Democrats passed a sales-tax increase of $4 billion over four years, and it’s no mystery who will pay for it — you, the consumer.

Just a few of the services that will now add sales tax to your bill:

Childcare
Legal services
Cleaning
Security
Computer/IT services

At a time when the average cost of childcare for an infant in Washington is $20,000 a year, Democrats decided to tax it.

The cost of food, health care, housing, prescription drugs and other everyday goods will take a bigger bite out of your wallet.

You get a little more time to prepare for this tax because it doesn’t take effect until October 1, but it will affect everyone in Washington.

What about the gas tax?

The following is an excerpt from my latest commentary in The Chronicle.

Many people are unhappy about the recent hike in the state fuel tax, especially since the average prices for gas and diesel were already much higher here than in every state except California and Hawaii.

But while that 6-cent jump is big compared to the other gas-tax increases our state has seen over the past century, the main drivers behind Washington’s inflated fuel prices continue to be the cap-and-tax law and the low-carbon fuel standard, both approved by majority Democrats in 2021.

Read the full commentary.

Taxing your home

We are in the middle of a long-term, serious affordable-housing crisis, but Democrats keep passing laws to increase your property taxes.

This time, it will cost taxpayers $1.6 billion, and it won’t just affect homeowners. It will hurt renters, too, as property owners have to pass along the expense through higher rents.

This latest move lifts the limit on the amount local governments can increase your property taxes each year through levies, taking us back to square one in the fight to close the education gap between rich and poor school districts.

Some people ask, “What’s wrong with voters deciding to tax themselves more?”

With regards to education funding, a district with residents who live in expensive houses and can afford to pay higher taxes could pass a higher levy rate and give their schools more money. However, a district with lower property values and a lower median income may not be able to afford to increase their levy and would go without the extra funding.

Their students wouldn’t have the same quality of education or opportunity as those in the wealthier areas.

This makes the level of education funding a district receives dependent on their zip code, widening the gap between students from different economic backgrounds.

This is unfair and this is why, under the “McCleary decision,” we leveled the playing field by capping local levies at 1%.

However, districts that can afford to pay more were unhappy with the cap and they just happen to be represented by Democrats, who are in the majority.

The irony in this situation is that Democrats claim to want equity and this policy is anything but equitable.

Taxing your joy

Several of the taxes target things that give people joy in life. If you enjoy it, there’s probably a tax for it.

A 38% increase in the price of hunting and fishing licenses (Effective July 1)
A $100 increase in the cost of marriage licenses (Effective July 27)
An increase in the cost of liquor licenses, costing customers of bars, restaurants, grocery stores and liquor stores more than $8.5 million per year (Effective July 27)
50% increase in the Discover Pass, which is required to park in Washington state parks

Ferguson complicit in largest tax increase in state history

The Seattle Times criticized Gov. Bob Ferguson for signing the Democrats’ budget that included $12.5 billion in state and local taxes — the largest tax increase in state history.

Although the Gov. Ferguson said this wasn’t how he wanted to start off as governor, he also said he was proud to sign the budget. Which is it?

Is he ashamed or proud of approving a $12.5 billion hit to the people of Washington?

Note: The editorial refers to $9.4 billion in taxes, which only accounts for the state tax increases.

Read the full editorial.

Braun: Tell the majority “NO” on higher property taxes

OLYMPIA – A Democrat-sponsored bill that could dramatically increase Washington’s property taxes will receive a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee at 4 p.m. Monday, March 31. The public is encouraged to sign in CON, testify against the bill, and/or submit written testimony opposing it.

Senate Bill 5798 would remove the 1% cap on the annual rate at which state and local governments can increase property taxes without voter approval. A similar bill in 2024 proposed tripling the cap to 3%, but SB 5798 goes even further—tying increases only to inflation and population growth, with no limit, which could result in annual hikes far exceeding 3%.

Local governments support the bill because it would let them collect more money. However, current law already allows them to exceed the 1% cap, if their voters approve—a fact not advertised by the bill’s advocates.

Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, strongly opposes the bill, stating:

“This policy would blow the doors off everyone’s property taxes. Had this been in effect over the past decade, Washingtonians would be paying double what they pay now. If the state or local governments want to raise property taxes beyond the 1% cap, they can already do that—they just need voter approval. That’s a critical check against excessive government growth. I’m opposed to this effort to bypass the will of the people to take more of their money.

“Washington is in the middle of a housing crisis. Homeowners and renters alike are worried about rising costs pushing them out of their homes. Larger annual property-tax hikes under this policy could lead to more foreclosures and evictions. It would also force many homeowners to sell, increasing demand for rental housing and driving rents even higher.

“Renters often think policies affecting property owners won’t touch them, but that’s not true. Landlords will have to pass tax increases on to their tenants. And if the Democrats also succeed in imposing rent control on our state , many rental-property owners—unable to recover their losses—will sell, taking those homes off the rental market permanently.

“Everyone should be concerned about this bill. If both state and local governments fully exercise the authority granted under SB 5798, property taxes could rise by 8% or more each year. The compounding effect of this tax policy over multiple years will result in billions of dollars in new property tax.”

Using unexpected revenue to reduce taxes

With state tax collections and projected revenues continuing to rise (see chart), I have proposed using up to $1 billion of unexpected tax dollars coming into the state to smooth next year’s transition to Washington’s new education-funding system.

While more than 70 percent of state taxpayers will see a net property-tax decrease once reforms are phased in, the new K-12 funding system has the entire state slated for a tax-rate increase of $0.81 per $1,000 assessed value in 2018.

Creating an equitable and long-term education funding system for our state required a great deal of compromise. Anything more than a short-term property-tax increase necessary to transition between funding systems was not my preferred method.

Ultimately, a one-year increase was necessary to reach a bipartisan agreement.

Every year our state’s chief economist issues quarterly, four-year revenue projections. My proposal would use 75 percent of the unexpected revenue growth – the amount that exceeds the June 2017 forecast – over the next four years to reduce the impacts of the $0.81 state property-tax rate increase in 2018.

The most recent quarterly forecast anticipates another $500 million coming into the state under the current tax structure (again, money beyond what was forecast in June), which would reduce the current $0.81 rate increase to less than $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

With the Legislature having already passed a budget that balances and provides property tax relief for a majority of our state over the next four years, this approach would provide us with an opportunity to amply fund state government and reduce the short-term impact on working families and people with fixed incomes.

Use unexpected tax revenues to reduce short-term property-tax impacts

With state tax collections and projected revenues continuing to rise, Sen. John Braun says he’s willing to use up to $1 billion of unexpected revenue to smooth next year’s transition to the new education-funding system lawmakers adopted in June.

While more than 70 percent of state taxpayers will see a net property-tax decrease once reforms are phased in, the Legislature’s overhaul of the K-12 funding system has the entire state slated for a tax-rate increase of $0.81 per $1,000 assessed property value in 2018.

“Creating an equitable and long-term education funding system for our state required a great deal of compromise,” said Braun, R-Centralia, who serves as chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and a member of the education funding negotiating team. “Anything more than a short-term property-tax increase necessary to transition between funding systems was not my preferred method. Ultimately, a one-year increase was necessary to reach an agreement across the aisle.

“Having heard similar concerns about property-tax increases from the governor and my Democratic colleagues, I expect we will see bipartisan support for this legislation.”

Every year state government issues quarterly, four-year revenue projections. Braun proposes using 75 percent of the unexpected revenue growth – the amount that exceeds the June 2017 forecast – over the next four years to reduce the impacts of the $0.81 state property-tax rate increase in 2018. The total offset to the state property tax would be capped at $1 billion.

“With the Legislature having already passed a budget that balances for the next four years, this would provide us with an opportunity to fully fund state government while reducing the impact on working families and people with fixed incomes,” said Braun.

Beginning in 2019, under Washington’s new education funding system, a school district’s local levy will be limited to a maximum of $1.50/$1,000 of assessed property value, up to $2,500 per student. Braun said more than 70 percent of state property owners will have a lower tax rate between 2019 and 2021 than they do now, even if all school districts fully utilize local levy capacity. The amount of people receiving property tax relief would grow if school districts used only a portion or none of their locally allowable levy.

Once this year’s education-funding reforms are phased in school districts will receive the same or more money in state funding alone as they currently take from state and local taxes combined.