Tagged as op-ed, but really I want a user discussion.
WA state does not (yet) have an income tax and relies disproportionately on property taxes to fund local and state govt initiatives. Notably, the state is in some fiscal trouble.
This prospective candidate for King County (includes Seattle) assessor has some ideas for improving tax revenue, many of which are a bit *thonk* IMO (increasing property taxes cap with inflation while partially bailing out SFHs… wouldn’t this eventually make the tax even more unwieldy over time as assessed value increases?) or is allowing a more flexible funding source while providing homeowner relief a good idea? (Personally, as a non-low-income renter I dislike that I would not receive any relief under this and thus be subsidizing SFH relief.)
Anyway, you can also see where the discourse stands on property taxes in WA state right now.
Posted by hypsignathus
4 Comments
Interesting article. I’m pretty sure here in Texas we have less onerous caps on property tax revenue growth (although the republicans are working tirelessly to imitate Washington)
I can’t read the article on my phone, but I know the answer is just tax land lol
>That distinction matters, because a family’s home is not an investment vehicle.
I wish.
>Washington may also want to explore land-value-focused taxation
> WA state does not (yet) have an income tax and relies disproportionately on property taxes to fund local and state govt initiatives.
Waow
I’m not from WA, but I do have strong opinions on property taxes
* Capping property tax increases in general is really problematic. I understand why places do it for residential property, but extending the cap to commercial property is insane.
* Capping property tax increases for residential households still causes a bunch of problems. Even aside from the funding gap, it completely insulates homeowners from high housing costs, turbocharging the incentives for a NIMBY gerontocracy, and forces new homeowners to pay disproportionately more in taxes relative to old homeowners.
I think if you’re going to cap property tax increases for residential properties, it has to be done with a few caveats
1. It’s limited to the primary residence for a household. If you own a vacation home or live out of state, your property tax increases shouldn’t be capped.
2. Capping increases at anything less than CPI is deranged.
3. You should have to “opt in”. By default your property tax increases will be uncapped.
4. If you do “opt in”, any future capital gains from the property sale at or above the price you capped your property taxes at, is taxed at whatever rate is needed to recoup the lost money in property tax revenue
I realize these are all unpopular, but my god the consequences of unfairly applied property taxes are fucking disastrous for land use and cost of living. Something needs to be done.