Hearing held on Zarelli's property tax plan
Monday, February 11, 2008 11:23 AM PST
By Stephanie Mathieu
smathieu@tdn.com
Printable version
E-mail this articleOLYMPIA - Ridgefield Republican Sen. Joe Zarelli's proposal to amend the state constitution and cut property taxes for homeowners is inching forward.
Senate Joint Resolution 8226 got a hearing last week, and the conservative Washington Policy Center praised it because it wouldn't shift tax burden to other groups and would give average homeowners a significant break.
The proposed constitutional amendment would exempt the first $100,000 of a home's value from state property taxes and would only apply to a person's primary home. Local property taxes would be unaffected.
Zarelli, estimating the measure would save the average homeowner $200 a year, says it would most benefit people with less valuable homes because they'd get proportionately larger tax relief.
"We've long talked about the homestead exemption," Zarelli told fellow members of the Ways & Means Committee during Thursday's hearing.
Business groups objected because they are excluded from the measure. Zarelli apologized to his "business friends," but he said property taxes have been building on the backs of homeowners and something must change.
"The dollar value just keeps cranking up year after year," said Paul Guppy, vice president for research of the Seattle-based Washington Policy Center, which calls itself a free-market think tank. "(SJR 8226) is a true tax cut."
Once fully implemented, the resolution also would cut about $300 million every two years from the state's general fund, which is one reason critics say the legislation will have a tough time passing.
SJR 8226 would "induce state elected officials to set clear priorities in state spending," according to the report distributed by the policy center.
Legislators have introduced more than 100 pieces of property tax relief legislation already this session.
Zarelli spoke about the measure with Gov. Chris Gregoire last week, according to Eric Campbell, a Senate Republican spokesman. The governor was noncommittal but said she would consider it, Campbell said.
Gregoire, a Democrat, partnered with Zarelli last year to create a "rainy day" budget fund.
SJR 8226 needs at least a two-thirds vote in both houses to be put before voters in November. Zarelli has said the buzz over tax relief gives the measure a chance even though Democrats have large majorities in both Houses.
"I'm trying to think of the glass half-full," Zarelli said.
"The value of the tax relief (SJR 8226) represents is a fraction of the many billions' worth of new spending approved over the past four years," Zarelli said in a written statement following the hearing.
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baloney wrote on Feb 11, 2008 3:57 PM:
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