The Building Industry Association of Washington joined Senate Republicans, real estate professionals, landlords, renters and others at a news conference on April 9 to fight property tax increases.  

Senate Bill 5798 removes the existing 1% cap on annual property tax increases without voter approval. This allows local governments to raise taxes without voter approval, tied to inflation and population growth. If approved, property taxes will skyrocket by an average of 4.7% per year—or even higher—potentially doubling people’s tax burden within a decade.

Incomprehensible

Gina Carlson, owner of Dunamis Interiors and Design-Build, spoke on behalf of the BIAW and the Olympia Master Builders.

“This bill should be a concern to everybody,” she said.“It’s a nonpartisan disaster. I'm here to support the American dream. I'm here to support affordable housing and the future of our state.

“Because of my property taxes and insurance costs, my escrow account has quadrupled in the course of the time that I've owned a home,” she said.“And now this. I find it incomprehensible that something like this could even be brought to the table when there are ways of managing this budget.”

Government may already bypass the 1% cap if voters approve

Approved by 58% of voters in 2001, Initiative 747 created a 1% cap on property tax increases and allowed higher increases only with a vote of the people.

“Local governments already have the ability to increase property taxes beyond 1% if they have a compelling need and voters approve,” said BIAW President Kent Arola. “Increasing property taxes makes housing less affordable for everyone, renters and homeowners alike.”

Increased property taxes further hurts housing affordability

Already, median-priced new homes in Washington cost $250,000 more than median-priced homes nationwide. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the median-priced new home in Washington is $700,683, requiring a household income of $208,583 just to qualify for a mortgage and afford the $4,294 monthly mortgage payment. In contrast, the median-priced new home nationwide is $459,826.

“It’s been said before and I’ll say it again: You can’t make housing more affordable by making it more expensive,” Arola said.

BIAW also opposes HB 2049 , which raises the property tax growth cap to 3% annually.

Tell your legislator to vote no

Voters can still have time to weigh in:

·        Tell legislators to vote NO on SB 5798.

·        Tell legislators to vote NO on HB 2049.

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